
Class 
Book. 



Copyright^ . 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



MIRACLE AND SCIENCE 



Miracle and Science 



BIBLE MIRACLES EXAMINED BY THE 

METHODS, RULES AND 

TESTS OF THE 

SCIENCE OF JURISPRUDENCE 

AS ADMINISTERED TO- 

DAY IN COURTS 

OF JUSTICE 



FRANCIS J. LAMB 

ATTORNEY AND COUNSELLOR AT LAW 



OBERLIN, OHIO, U. S. A. 

BIBLIOTHECA SACRA COMPANY 

1909 






COPYRIGHTED 1909 BY 
FRANCIS J. LAMB 



The News Printing Co., Oberlin, O. 



::;" 



LIBRARY cf CONGRESS 
Twu Conies Received 

JUN 26 1BU9 

« Copyncnt tntry 






PREFACE 



The Introductory Chapter presents generally the 
plan of this work. The following indicates the 
occasion and purpose of its production. Observers 
in late years have known that multitudes, classified 
in Christian categories, have suffered loss of faith 
in the Bible. To them the Bible has ceased to be 
the Word of God — ceased to be the record in hu- 
man language of revelations of God to man of His 
love, law, and economy of grace. Its counsels 
are no longer to them regulative authority in 
matters of religion and spiritual life. On the 
contrary, the Bible has become to them mere litera- 
ture, the product solely of human thought, with no 
element whatever of divineness in its production. 
Embraced in this class are many in the Christian 
ministry, in educational work, and in the laity of 
the churches. 

The inception and spread of this new disbelief 
in the Bible synchronizes with the advent and 
spread of a new attack on the Bible. The attack 
flatly denies the miracle and supernatural inherent 
in the Bible record from Genesis to Revelation. 
This attack is championed by devotees of what is 



vi Preface 

known as advanced (sometimes called destructive) 
Higher Criticism of the Bible. As disclosed by 
their literature the attack has its base in supposi- 
tion of natural evolution in human history and the 
world. A concrete statement of the attack is made 
by a foremost leader of these critics — A. Kuenen, 
Professor of Theology in Leyden. We quote his 
statement : " So soon as we derive a separate part 
of Israel's religious life directly from God, and 
allow the supernatural or immediate revelation to 
intervene in even one single point, so long also our 
view of the whole continues to be incorrect. ... It 
is the supposition [italics ours] of a natural de- 
velopment alone which accounts for all the phe- 
nomena." x 

The contention of these advanced critics is 
based, also, on the presupposition that miracles 
are impossible, and therefore cannot be the basis 
of history; hence they should be expunged from 
the Bible. The reasons assigned for such denial 
proceed on the Bible conception of miracle and 
assert: (a) miracle is irrational; (b) miracle is 
not God's way of working in the world; and (c) 
miracles cannot be proved to be true. Analytical 
consideration of the three propositions shows that 
1 Prophets and Prophecy in Israel (1877), p. 4. 



Preface vii 

the first two are dependent on the third; for, mir- 
acles being provable, then (&) miracle is one way 
of God's working in the world; and (a) God's 
working in the world is not irrational. The pro- 
position that miracles are not provable is evidently 
the basis of such disbelief and denial. To counter- 
act these attacks upon the Bible; to show that 
due employment of the rules, tests, and ordeals of 
the proper science (that of jurisprudence) upon 
the Bible record will demonstrate that there is 
within human control competent evidence, ample 
and adequate when duly dealt with, to prove the 
Bible record of miracles true and a verity, to dis- 
prove the contention of the negators, and to vindi- 
cate the truthfulness of the Bible, were the pur- 
poses for which the work was undertaken. The 
result is herewith presented. 

The value of jural science to religion has not, 
we venture to suggest, been adequately appre- 
hended. After showing the capacity of that science 
in proving miracles to be verities, we have set forth 
to some extent its capacity in simplifying difficult 
and perplexing questions in religious matters, and 
in solving serious problems in theology and cog- 
nate questions. The value of that science in such 
inquiries may be seen, also, when, by its due em- 



viii Preface 

ployment on the Bible record, it ascertains rational 
certainties and provides for faith foundations of 
fact and verity. 

It is proper to state to the reader that our use 
of italics in Scripture quotations is for emphasis — 
not as indicating words supplied by translation in 
our English version. If the literary cast of the 
book in any part shall seem to any reader to par- 
take of the nature of a brief for the truthfulness 
of the Scriptures, or a brief against opponents who 
charge God with unrighteousness, it may be sug- 
gested in reply, that a lawyer's brief seems an ap- 
propriate method of complying with the Scripture 
exhortation to " contend earnestly for the faith 
which was once for all delivered unto the saints/' 

Francis J. Lamb. 
Madison, Wisconsin, June 2, 1909. 



CONTENTS 



Introductory — Problems Stated 



Miracle defined — pregnant questions, 1 ; Testing mir- 
acles by science, 2 ; Denials of miracles, 4 ; Jural 
science — rules, tests, standards, 7; Illustrations 
of " issue " — solving questions, 10 ; Divine em- 
ployment of " issue," 11 ; Evidence — function — 
operation, 13. 

CHAPTER II 

Verity of Miracles Examined by Judicial Stand- 
ards 15 



Section I 

Issue and ordeal, 17; Competence of evidence gen- 
erally, 19 ; Opponents' objections examined, 26. 

Section II 

Ancient Document evidence, 26; Tests of the valid- 
ity of evidence, 27; Evidence — Ancient Docu- 
ment rule, 30; Writings unacknowledged and un- 
recorded, 33 ; Ancient Document rule applies to 
all kinds of writings, 38 ; Copies equally with or- 
iginals embraced in the rule, 40 ; Accounting for 
loss of originals dispensed with in cases of very 
Ancient Documents, 41 ; Ancient copy like Bible 
copies, 43; Bible documents within the rule — 
Greenleaf, 45. 



x Contents 

Section III 
Evidence competent, 51 ; Facts, 53 ; Result of trial ... 57 

CHAPTER III 

Function of Miracle 60 

Miracle — the testimony of Gcd, 61; Miracle evidence 
— Abraham, 64 ; Gideon — Symbolism, 66 ; New - 
Testament instances, 68 ; Supreme instances, 72 ; 
The Master's testimony, 75. 

CHAPTER IV 
Miracles as Objective Evidence in Revelation 78 

Section I 

Miracle authenticating revelation, 78; The doctrine 
rational, 80. 

Section II 

Unsanctioned subjective conception mistaken for 
revelation, 84; Subjective conceptions of revela- 
tion, 85 ; Unauthenticated subjective conceptions, 
88 ; Moses, 88 ; The Man of Cohasset, 89. 

Section III 

Christ the Way and Guide in conceptions of Deity 
and of duty, 92. 

CHAPTER V 

Miracle and Doctrine — Deity of Jesus 96 

Jesus' use of jural science, 99; Blasphemy charged 
against Jesus, 102 ; The " issue " — deity of Je- 
sus, 105; The verdict, 109; Deity of Jesus con- 
firmed, 112. 



Contents xi 

CHAPTER VI 
Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 114 

Section I 

Scope of proposed inquiry, 114 ; State of religion, Ex- 
odus era, 118. 

Section II 

Deity — attributes proved, 126; Sacred scribes, 132; 
Judgments executed against the gods of Egypt, 
135. 

Section III 

Existence of God, 138 ; Specific proof, 139 ; Summary 
— Jehovah's existence proved, 145. 

Section IV 

Perpetuating evidence, 147; Custody of the evidence, 
149; #7ra£, 153. 

Section V 

Righteousness of Jehovah denied by skeptics, 156 ; 
Skeptics' accusation analyzed, 158 ; God's judg- 
ment covenant with Abraham, 162 ; A revela- 
tion, 165; Tracing the judgment covenant, 167; 
Judgment covenant — Exodus era, 169 ; Nine 
punishments of Egyptians, 175; Further tracing 
of the judgment covenant, 178; God judged the 
Egyptians, 179 ; Judgment covenant performed, 
181. 

Section VI 

Dealing with Pharaoh's heart, 185 ; Rule construing 
intent, 187 ; Apologetics, 188 ; Heart hardened, 
190 ; Plague of hail, 194 ; Plague of locusts, 197 ; 
Full proof, 201 ; Jural matters judged by jural 



xii Contents 

standards, 202; Presumption of right in juris- 
prudence, 205; Meaning and use of phrase "to 
stand," 205; What is proof, 207; Further evi- 
dence, 209 ; Party's right to make full proof, 212 ; 
Jehovah supreme in all the earth, 213; The new- 
evidence; 214; Further evidence essential, 217; 
Completion of proof, 218; Contrasted probative 
force of final miracle, 220 ; The judgment, 222. 

CHAPTER VII 

MlBACLE INTEGEAL AND CONSTITUENT IN GOD'S ECON- 
OMY of Grace and Revelation 225 

Section I 

Scope of inquiry, 225 ; Resurrection of Jesus, test and 
proof of doctrine, 228; Gates of Hell — Satan, 
230 ; The Church of Christ, 232. 

Section II 

Apostles' .conception of Jesus before his crucifixion, 
234; Fulfilment of Daniel's prophecy, 238; Foun- 
dations of apostles' faith in Jesus as Messiah, 
239 ; Faith produced by miracle, 244 ; Miracles — 
Mount of Transfiguration, 245. 

Section III 

Jesus — Last Supper — arrest — trial, 252. 

Section IV 

On the cross — apostles' faith eclipsed, 257; Chal- 
lenge of priests and rulers, 261 ; Apostles' faith 
lost, 264. 

Section V 

Apostles' faith, awakened, not perfected, by resurrec- 
tion of Jesus, 267; Essential instruction to apos- 



Contents xiii 

ties, 269; Resurrection of Jesus — ordeal of trial, 
275; Miracle and lesson — Sea of Tiberias, 288; 
The lesson taught, 294. 

Section VI 

Ascension and Pentecost, 296; Transformation of 
apostles, 297. 

Section VII 

Miracle lesson — salvation for Gentiles also, 300; 
Brethren established, 306. 

CHAPTER VIII 

Cessation of Miracles — Why 308 

" Not as I will, but as thou wilt," 313 ; The Master's 
lesson at Nazareth, 314; Foreigner fed in fam- 
ine — why, 316; Another foreigner, Naaman, 317. 

CHAPTER IX 

Is Moral Imperative a Function of Evidence 321 

Answer of science, 321 ; Answer of religion of Christ, 
322; Supernatural evidence to prove supernatural 
facts, 326; Miracle evidence ordained for the 
great commission, 329; Perpetuating the miracle 
evidence, 331 ; Miracle evidence preponderant, 
332. 



Miracle and Science 

CHAPTER I 
INTRODUCTORY — PROBLEMS STATED 

" Come, let us reason together, saith the Lord." 

Isaiah 1:18. 

The Bible embraces sixty-six Ancient Docu- 
ments. They record more than two hundred mira- 
cles. One has truly said : 

" We can discuss Christianity to a certain dis- 
tance without accepting its alleged miracles as true ; 
but we cannot discuss it at all, without accepting 
them as a part of the system. If we leave them out 
of it we shall not be discussing Christianity but 
some figment of our own." 

MIRACLE DEFINED PREGNANT QUESTIONS 

The Bible presents miracle as : A wonderful, 
supernatural, and superhuman transaction wrought 
by the special fiat of Deity; a transaction possible 
to Deity alone (John 3:2; Acts 3 : 22). The Bible 
also presents miracles as integral and constituent in 
God's economy of grace and revelation — his moral 
government of men. This estimate which the Bible 



2 Miracle and Science 

itself puts upon miracles has been the faith of Chris- 
tians from the beginning. Opponents of Christianity 
have from ancient times denied the miracles. But 
the strange anomaly 1 has appeared, in late years, 
of great numbers in all walks of life who, while 
still adhering to the Christian Church, question, 
disparage, or deny the verity of the Bible record of 
miracles. These conditions are forcing to the front 
in the religious world such radical questions as these : 
Are the alleged Bible miracles verities? Is there 
competent evidence within human control adequate 
to prove the alleged miracles true? Are miracles 
integral and constituent in God's economy of grace 
and revelation? Is miracle made the testimony of 
God? Do miracles have any function in theology, 
the science of religion? Can man have rational 
certainty that purported revelation is really such 
unless verified by objective evidence which Deity 
alone can produce, i.e. supernatural evidence, which 
at the same time is evidence man by his normal 
powers can scrutinize, test, and know to be verity? 

TESTING MIRACLES BY SCIENCE 

Literature on the Bible miracles is abundant ; but 
after extended inquiry we do not find that any 
1 Anomaly examined in Chapter VII. 



Introductory — Problems Stated 3 

work has yet been published that employs the tests 
of science, or the scientific method, in examining 
the miracles or in attempting to solve the above 
and cognate questions. 

These conditions justify, if they do not demand, 
renewed examination of the subject in the light of 
applied science. This will deal with old doctrines 
long adhered to ; but if the use of tests and meth- 
ods science has established for ascertaining truth 
and fact in regard to those questions shall yield 
more accurate conceptions of doctrines regarding 
miracles and more rational foundations upon which 
the doctrines stand, the result may well justify the 
labor. We propose such examination. It may lead 
into new paths and lines of inquiry, and the caution 
of Professor Simon Greenleaf, eminent as a jurist 
and authority on evidence, on a related inquiry 
made some years ago, may be renewed here: 

" It is essential to the discovery of truth that we 
bring to the investigation a mind free from all 
pride of opinion — open to conviction — not hostile 
to the truth sought for, willing to investigate with 
candor, to impartially weigh the arguments and 
evidence, follow the truth wherever the investiga- 
tion leads us and acquiesce in the judgment of 
right reason." 



4 Miracle and Science 

DENIALS OF MIRACLES 

Often, perhaps generally, negators base their 
contention on the ground that science shows or 
scientists declare that as nature is constituted mir- 
acle is impossible. This contention of negators 
overlooks the relation nature sustains to powers 
outside of or over and above nature. This rela- 
tion and its consequences on this question have 
been lately well and briefly stated by a scientist of 
more than national fame: 

" The best definition of nature is that which con- 
ceives of it simply as the system of causally con- 
nected sequences of the universe. Thus conceived, 
the free wills both of man and the Creator are 
forces outside of nature having the mysterious 
power of piercing the joints of this harness of cau- 
sally connected sequences, and modifying the re- 
sults according to an intelligent purpose. Man by 
his volition brings about new and unexplainable 
combinations of natural forces. To a limited ex- 
tent he changes the face of nature. He forms com- 
binations that are new, and produces results which 
are extranatural. Nature herself would never pro- 
duce a house, or build a railroad, or develop do- 
mestic plants and animals." 1 

X G. Frederick Wright, Scientific Confirmations of Old 
Testament History, pp. 84, 85 ; see, too, Bushnell, Nature 
and the Supernatural. 



Introductory — Problems Stated 5 

The power man thus exercises over nature is 
not merely extranatural. It is supernatural; es- 
sentially so, because it is the domination of mind, or 
intelligent purpose, over and superior to nature, 
or insentient force — force incapable of purpose or 
choice. Professor Wright continues : 

" There is no more philosophical difficulty in 
conceiving of God's working a miracle than there 
is in conceiving of man as producing an extranat- 
ural effect through his control and combination of 
natural forces. The difference between a miracle 
and the accomplishment of man's free will lies 
chiefly in the magnitude of the events and the ex- 
tent of the control which is manifested. Man is 
limited in his control of nature. . . . 

" With God, however, there is no such limitation 
of power. He has power to bring about results 
which are superhuman as well as supernatural." 

Denial of miracles is sometimes rested on the al- 
leged view of science, that all things are governed 
by immutable laws, or fixed modes of motion, 
termed the Laws of Nature, by which God himself 
is of necessity bound. This argument and its fal- 
lacy lie in supposing that the omniscient Creator 
of all things first made a code of laws, and then 
put it out of his own power to change, modify, or 
interfere with them or their operation. 



6 Miracle and Science 

If one admits the existence of God as in any in- 
telligible sense the upholder of all things, there is 
no ground on which one can consistently say that 
miracle is impossible. Evolutionists who believe 
in the existence of God admit that the origin of life 
is to be attributed to interposition by him : this ad- 
mits all that is necessary to establish the possibility 
of miracle, for such intervention is what miracle is 
defined to be. 

Atheistic evolutionists use their theory to dis- 
pense altogether with God in the universe. While 
nature may be to some extent so explained as to 
show development from lower to higher forms, 
there are gulfs which evolution cannot bridge. In 
this view, evolution declares that the forces now 
operating are the same as in all ages. But, that 
being true, spontaneous generation of life does not 
now occur; and so no presumption can be allowed 
that it ever did. It follows, inevitably, that there 
is a break in the chain of evolutionary continuity 
that requires for the production of life such an in- 
tervention as miracle is. In short the appearance 
of life is a miracle, so far as evolution is concerned, 
as really as any of the mighty works wrought by 
Jesus are miracles. Hence evolutionists of the 
Atheistical School cannot consistently or ration- 



Introductory — Problems Stated 7 

ally object to the possibility of miracles. 1 But al- 
though we are justified in concluding that there is 
no valid ground on which a theist, deist, or evolu- 
tionist can claim the impossibility of miracles, the 
questions of their verity and function as above 
stated remain to be considered. 

The Bible comes to men as evidence. The Sci- 
ence of Jurisprudence operates on what is pro- 
posed as evidence, and therefrom establishes truth 
and fact, and is obviously a science to be employed 
in solving those questions. 

JURAL SCIENCE RULES, TESTS, STANDARDS 

The science of jurisprudence, like chemistry and 
every other science, has its data, rules, tests, stand- 
ards and methods, its instruments so to speak, its 
machinery, with which it operates in dealing with 
evidence in establishing proof. These rules, tests, 
and standards are maxims which the sagacity and 
experience of ages have established as the best 
means of discriminating truth from error. 2 Such 
rules, tests, and standards, and their due employ- 
ment, constitute the scientific method of investiga- 
tion in jurisprudence. 

1 See William M. Taylor, Miracles of our Saviour, pp. 
19-21. 

2 A. P. Will, Circumstantial Evidence, p. 2. 



8 Miracle and Science 

A statement of the more important of these rules 
and methods is necessary, to enable the reader to 
appreciate their application in the examination of 
the evidence of miracles here proposed. What- 
ever in fact produces belief is evidence. Evidence 
is what produces belief. This fact is primary, fun- 
damental. Jural science and legislation within the 
last one hundred years, acting on this basic truth, 
have very greatly liberalized rules and standards 
of competency of evidence. These will be noticed 
later. 

Evidence is power. Evidence produces results. 
In connection with correct reasoning, evidence pro- 
duces knowledge. But, like every power subject to 
man, that which may be evidence must be con- 
trolled and applied in the elucidation of truth or 
fact by appropriate means, in order that it may pro- 
duce its just effect. The power of steam, to be 
available, must be confined by the rigid cylinder 
and applied to the work by the moving piston. The 
primitive power of the ox, to be available, must be 
controlled and applied to the load by the indispen- 
sable yoke. 

The power of evidence is addressed to the intel- 
lect ; hence the instrument that controls and applies 
it in administering jural science must be adapted 



Introductory — Problems Stated 9 

to that condition. That instrument in this science 
in evolving truth or fact from evidence is desig- 
nated "the issue." It defines the precise question 
in dispute. 1 

In administering jural science, consideration is 
given to all allegations of contestants, and what- 
ever is alleged by one party and not denied by op- 
ponent is deemed admitted. On ascertaining on 
what a controversy between disputants hinges, 
jurisprudence requires that contention to be stated 
as a proposition, affirmed by one party, denied by 
opponent, and constitutes that "the issue." By 
thus precisely defining the exact question in dis- 
pute, " the issue " not only gives each party full 
intelligent opportunity to produce his evidence, 
but " the issue " controls and excludes or applies 
what is proposed as evidence; for only matters 
that are relevant to the " issue," that will help to get 
at the truth of the precise question in dispute, can 
be evidence. This is a cardinal doctrine of jural 
science. 2 

This employment of " the issue " is seen con- 
stantly in litigation in courts of justice, where 

1 Gould's Pleading, 196; Seller v. Jenkins, 97 Ind. 
438. 

2 2 Greenleaf on Ev. sec. 3. 



10 Miracle and Science 

results of trial are formally announced and com- 
pulsorily enforced. But "the issue" as a jural in- 
strument is as old as the Bible, from which 
jurisprudence may have derived it. 

ILLUSTRATIONS OF " ISSUE " SOLVING QUESTIONS 

The use of " the issue " is not limited to com- 
pulsory litigation in courts. It is available for try- 
ing and deciding any and all contentions between 
disputants when truth or fact is to be ascertained 
and established through evidence. Abraham Lin- 
coln's use of this instrument of jural science in his 
oration at Cooper Institute, 1860, may illustrate. 

In the heat of political strife over slavery, the 
South, appealing to Washington's warning against 
local prejudice, charged the dominant party of the 
North with sectionalism. Mr. Lincoln in public 
discourse employed this part of the machinery of 
jurisprudence, the " issue," to test and try the 
charge. Identifying himself with that party at the 
North, and addressing the South, he said: 

" You say we are sectional. We deny it. That 
makes an issue, and the burden of proof is on you. 
You produce your proof and what is it? Why 
that our party has no existence in your section; 
gets no votes in your section. The fact is substan- 
tially true, but does it prove the issue? If it does, 



Introductory — Problems Stated 11 

then, if we should without change of principle be- 
gin to get votes in your section, we should thereby 
cease to be sectional. You cannot escape this con- 
clusion; and yet are you willing to abide by it? 
If you are, you will probably soon find we have 
ceased to be sectional, for we shall get votes in 
your section this very year. You will then begin 
to discover, as the truth is, that your proof does 
not touch the issue." 

Mr. Lincoln by the use of this machinery of jural 
science took the disputed question out from the 
indeterminate sphere of mere argument or debate 
and, carrying it forward, advanced it to " issue," 
test, and the ordeal of trial and judgment, as con- 
clusively to the public — all honest minds — those 
who were affected by it and who constituted the 
tribunal — as though the decision had been an- 
nounced by a court in formal session. 

DIVINE EMPLOYMENT OF " ISSUE " 

Speaking reverently, we shall see later that when 
the deity of Jesus was in dispute, he not only 
recognized, but insisted on, the use of " the issue " 
in the rational examination of evidence, in proving 
his divinity in dealing with the palsied man at Ca- 
pernaum. Also, we shall see that Jehovah or- 
dained and employed " the issue " in proving his 



12 Miracle and Science 

existence and supremacy as facts at the Exodus. 
Again, when the existence and supremacy of God 
were denied by worshipers of Baal at Carmel, God 
especially ordained the use of " the issue " as 
formulated by Elijah for trial by evidence through 
altar sacrifice and fire from heaven whereby God 
could and did prove openly to the physical senses 
of men his existence and supremacy. 

Elijah's prayer in immediate connection with the 
actual production of that evidence demonstrates 
this. The prayer is : Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, 
and Israel, let it be known this day (1) that thou 
art God in Israel, (2) that I am thy servant, and 
(3) that I have done all these things at thy word. 

"A proposition of fact is proved when supported 
by sufficient and satisfactory evidence — which is 
that amount of proof which ordinarily satisfies an 
unprejudiced mind beyond a reasonable doubt. 
When we have this degree of evidence it is unrea- 
sonable to require more. 

" If it is such [evidence] as usually satisfies 
reasonable men in matters of ordinary transactions 
it is all any skeptic has a right to require, for it is 
by such evidence alone that our rights are deter- 
mined in civil tribunals; and on no other evidence 
do they proceed in capital cases." * 

^reenleaf, Test, of the Evang. sec. 41. 



Introductory — Problems Stated 13 

EVIDENCE FUNCTION OPERATION 

What may be termed the philosophy of the oper- 
ation and use of evidence should be noted among 
these preliminary matters. A late writer describes 
this as follows : 

" Evidence is always a relative term. It signifies 
a relation between two facts, the factum proban- 
dum or the proposition to be established, and the 
factum probans or material evidencing the propo- 
sition. 

" The former [the proposition to be established] 
is what one party affirms and the other denies. . . . 
The latter, the evidentiary fact, is brought forward 
as a reality for the purpose of convincing the tri- 
bunal that the former is also a reality. No correct 
and sure comprehension of the nature of any evi- 
dential question can ever be had unless this double 
or relative aspect of it is distinctly pictured. On 
each occasion the questions must be asked : What 
is the proposition to be proved? What is the evi- 
dentiary fact offered to prove it? 

" Part of the confusion which is often found 
arises from the circumstance that each evidentiary 
fact may in turn become a proposition to be proved 
until some ultimate evidentiary fact is reached. 

" For example, to prove the proposition that a 
murder was committed by John Doe, the eviden- 
tiary fact may be offered, that John Doe left the 



14 Miracle and Science 

victim's house shortly after the murder; to prove 
this in turn, as a proposition, the evidentiary fact 
may be offered that John Doe's shoes fit the track 
left near the house by the murderer ; and this again 
as a proposition may be evidenced by the statement 
of a witness on the stand who has placed the shoes 
in the tracks. Here each evidentiary fact in its 
turn, becomes a proposition requiring the marshall- 
ing of new evidentiary facts more or fewer accord- 
ing to its complexity." x 

" In a case of burglary, the thief had gained ad- 
mittance to the house by means of a knife, the 
blade broken in the attempt and part of the blade 
left in the window frame; the broken knife was 
found in the pocket of the prisoner and corre- 
sponded exactly with the fragment left in the win- 
dow frame. In another case identification was 
established by the correspondence of the wadding 
of the fire arms of the prisoner with a part of a 
torn letter found in his possession — and in another 
case on the Northern Circuit when a man had been, 
shot by a bullet the wadding of the pistol which 
stuck in the wound was found to be a part of a 
ballad which corresponded with another part found 
in the pocket of the prisoner." 2 

Other rules, tests, and standards of jural science 
may be noted as occasion for their use arises. 
1 1 Wigmore on Ev. sec. 2. 2 IMd. sec. 149. 



CHAPTER II 

VERITY OF MIRACLES EXAMINED BY 
JUDICIAL STANDARDS 

"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." 

1 Thess. 5 : 21. 

Section I 

Are the reported Bible miracles verities? This 
is a question of fact. Questions of fact are solved 
by evidence. 

Hence the question may be narrowed to this: 
Are there facts or matters within human control, 
which, tested by the rules and standards of jural 
science, will constitute evidence that proves the 
alleged miracles verities? We propose, in seeking 
an intelligent, rational answer to the question, to 
examine a prominent and representative instance. 
This we propose to do by the same tests, rules, and 
principles of jural science by which the greatest, 
the most serious issues of life, liberty, honor, char- 
acter, and property are determined between man 
and man in courts of justice in the administration 
of the science of jurisprudence. 

The raising of Lazarus from death to life seems 
sufficiently important and representative for this 



16 Miracle and Science 

purpose. We therefore propose here examination 
of that alleged miracle by the method, rules, and 
tests of that science in seeking an answer to this 
question : Is there now competent, relevant, admis- 
sible evidence within human control which, tested 
by jural science as administered in courts of jus- 
tice, establishes rationally, as verity, the alleged 
miracle of raising Lazarus from death to life? 

The question brings to mind the famous chal- 
lenge of David Hume, that " no amount of human 
testimony can prove a miracle." 

This challenge of Hume has constituted a fa- 
mous maxim of skeptics ever since it was an- 
nounced. Hume's assertion has been met suf- 
ficiently by argument, 1 but we are not aware that 
the challenge has ever been brought to the ordeal 
of actual issue, test, and trial. Hume's proposition 
seems to furnish the means for such ordeal, and 
gives opportunity for using the issue by the rules 
and standards — the instrumentalities in constant 
use — in administering jural science in courts of 
justice, to ascertain: First and especially, whether 
such evidence amenable to human control exists, 

1 Lord Brougham, Discourse on Nat Theol. (Ed. 1825), 
note 5, pp. 210-214; Trench, Miracles, p. 60; Hopkins, 
Lowell Lectures, pp. 31-40; Taylor, Miracles of our Sa- 
viour, p. 11. 



Miracles Examined Judicially 17 

which, when duly considered, establishes the verity 
of the miracle; secondly and only incidentally, 
whether such proof can be made by human testi- 
mony. 

ISSUE AND ORDEAL 

We therefore propose here such ordeal as fur- 
nishing rational opportunity for examining and 
testing by established and approved methods of 
science the principal question ; viz. Regarded from 
the standpoint of science, rigorously, rightfully, 
and impartially applied, is that alleged miracle fact 
— is it verity ? Hume's challenge is : 

" Now a miracle is a violation of the laws of na- 
ture; and as firm and unalterable experience has 
established these laws, the proof against a miracle, 
from the very nature of the fact, is as ample as any 
argument from experience can possibly be imag- 
ined ; and if so it is an undeniable consequence that 
it cannot be surmounted by any proof whatever de- 
rived from human testimony." 1 

Mr. Hume's contention is universal against all 
miracles, excludes none, includes those recorded in 
the Bible, and embraces that of raising Lazarus 
from death to life. 

Divested of any petitio principii and argumenta- 
1 Hume's Works (Ed. 1809).. p. 120. 



18 Miracle and Science 

tive portions, and limiting it to the miracle of rais- 
ing Lazarus from death, Mr. Hume's proposition is : 

" A miracle [namely, that alleged of raising Laz- 
arus from death to life, described in the Gospel of 
John, chapter 11] is a violation of the laws of na- 
ture; and as firm and unalterable experience has 
established these laws, the proof against [the] mir- 
acle .... cannot be surmounted by any proof 
whatever, derived from human testimony." 

Believing Christians deny the proposition. That 
makes an issue. It is an issue of fact to be deter- 
mined by competent testimony, examined by rules, 
tests, and standards of jural science and evidence 
as administered in courts of justice. 

The narratives left by the Evangelists of matters 
occurring within the personal knowledge of the 
recorders and persons named may be brought to 
the tests to which other like class of evidence is 
subjected in human tribunals — courts of justice — 
to ascertain their competency, relevancy, and ad- 
missibility as evidence on this issue. 

The importance of the facts testified to and 
their relation to a miracle can make no difference 
in the principle or mode of determining their ad- 
missibility as evidence or the mode of weighing it. 
It is still the evidence of matters of fact capable of 



Miracles Examined Judicially 19 

being known and related as well by one man as an- 
other. 

" If the testimony of the Evangelist, supposing it 
to be relevant and material to the issue in a ques- 
tion of property or personal right, between man 
and man, in a court of justice, ought to be believed 
and have weight, then upon the like principles it 
ought to receive our entire credit here!' 1 

That standard of Professor Greenleaf for test- 
ing the competency and admissibility of the Bible 
documents as evidence is simple, plain, and read- 
ily apprehended. It has our approval, and we 
propose to examine the competency of those docu- 
ments as evidence when tested by that standard 
as it is established by the rules, principles, and 
maxims of jural science as administered in courts 
of justice. 

COMPETENCE OF EVIDENCE GENERALLY 

The rules and standards of jural science which 
determine the competency and admissibility of 
what is offered as evidence are the maxims which 
the sagacity and experience of ages in the admin- 
istration of that science in courts of justice have 
established as the true means of discriminating 
truth from error. An important fact in regard to 
1 Greenleaf, Test, of the Evang. sec. 3. 



20 Miracle and Science 

some of those rules as now administered deserves 
notice in this connection. 

Jural science in the department of evidence has 
within the last one hundred years been rescued 
from some imperfections of some of its rules by 
improvement, especially of rules controlling the 
competency and admissibility of evidence. 

Radically speaking, whatever influences one's 
mind for or against a proposition is evidence. It 
may be faint or cogent in its operation on the 
mind or judging faculty; that is a matter of de- 
gree. But if it operates " in any degree " to im- 
press the mind with a conviction that the proposi- 
tion is true or that it is not true, it is evidence. 

We quote to this proposition the doctrine laid 
down by jurists of deserved fame and authority in 
both Europe and America. Justice Edward Liv- 
ingston, in his work on " Code of Evidence," says : 

" Ultimately the whole machinery of Jurispru- 
dence, in all its branches, is contrived for the pur- 
pose of enabling the judging power to determine 
on the truth or falsehood of every litigated propo- 
sition. This is done by hearing and examining 
evidence; that is to say, hearing and examining 
everything that will contribute to bring the mind 
to the determination required. 

" If we refuse to hear what will in any degree 



Miracles Examined Judicially 21 

produce this effect, we must determine on imper- 
fect evidence; and in proportion to the importance 
of the matter thus refused to be heard must evi- 
dently be the chance of making an incorrect rather 
than a correct determination." 1 

The English jurist, William Wills, on the first 
page of his work on " Circumstantial Evidence," 
says: 

" Every conclusion of the judgment whatever 
may be its subject is the result of evidence — a word 
which is applied to denote the means by which any 
alleged matter of fact the truth of which is submit- 
ted to investigation is established or disproved." 

Greenleaf, in the first section of his great work 
on Evidence, says: 

" The word evidence, in legal acceptation, in- 
cludes all the means by which any alleged matter of 
fact, the truth of which is submitted to investiga- 
tion, is established or disproved." 

In former times jural science had by artificial 
rules excluded many classes and kinds of evidence 
as irrelevant, immaterial, or otherwise improper. 
For example, the testimony of a party and that of 
any witness having the least pecuniary interest 
in the subject of litigation were excluded. 

But extended experience had demonstrated that 
J l Code of Ev. (1823), p. 421. 



22 Miracle and Science 

such rules, artificially made at first to protect suit- 
ors from possibly false testimony, became in num- 
berless cases a fatal barrier, which excluded the 
only real evidence by which the truth could be as- 
certained, and thus defeated the very fundamental 
function of jural science; namely, the elucidation 
of truth and fact from evidence. 

Decisions of the Supreme Court of Georgia may 
illustrate this : 

" The judges both in England and in this 
country are struggling constantly to open the 
door — aye to" take it off the hinges to let in all 
facts calculated to affect the minds of the jury in 
arriving at a correct conclusion. . . . Truth, common 
sense and enlightened reason alike demand the 
abolition of all those artificial rules which shut out 
any fact from the jury however remotely relevant 
or from whatever source derived which could as- 
sist them in coming to a satisfactory verdict. . . . 
This court stands pledged by its past history for 
the abolition to the extent of its power of all ex- 
clusionary rules which shut out from the jury facts 
which may serve directly or remotely to reflect light 
upon the transaction upon which they are called 
upon to pass. For one case gained by improper 
proof, ninety-nine have been lost or improperly 
found on account of the parties being precluded by 
artificial rules from submitting all the facts to the 



Miracles Examined Judicially 23 

tribunal to which is committed the decision of the 
cause. Verdicts . . . will never speak the truth. . . . 
until the door is thrown wide open to all facts cal- 
culated to assist in the slightest manner in arriving 
at a correct conclusion in the pending contro- 
versy." 1 

Such miscarriage of justice, and consequent re- 
proach of jurisprudence, called for and secured re- 
form. As formulated by Bentham, the reformers 
proposed, as the perfect rule of admissibility of 
evidence, the following : " In the character of ob- 
jection to competency no objection ought to be al- 
lowed." 2 

Changes of the old rule in the line of that pro- 
posed standard have been made by legislatures and 
courts as experience and observation have justified, 
until now, by such advance in jural science, all 
matters productive of belief and conviction as to 
the truth or falsity of a question in dispute are 
admitted. Parties may testify in their own behalf, 
and no one is excluded because of his relationship 
to a party or because of interest in the subject of 
litigation. 

1 Johnson v. State, 14 Ga. 61 ; Haynes v. State, 17 Ga. 
484. 

2 Bentham, Rationale of Judicial Ev. (1827), vol. i. 
p. 3. 



24 Miracle and Science 

The wisdom of such advance in liberalizing rules 
for the admission of evidence in jural science has 
been demonstrated, and the liberal rules justified, 
by actual experience and discriminating observa- 
tion; they have been established for all courts and 
tribunals of the United States and Great Britain 
and in enlightened courts generally. It is evident 
that in jural science liberality in admitting evi- 
dence, instead of restriction, is henceforth destined 
not only to continue but to prevail more and more. 

Coming now to the issue, the rule of evidence 
called into operation is : " On each occasion the 
questions must be asked: [1] What is the propo- 
sition to be established? [2] What is the eviden- 
tiary fact (or facts) offered to prove it?" 1 To 
these two questions, in the case of Lazarus, the re- 
sponses are: 

1. The principal proposition to be established 
is, that by competent testimony the miracle can be 
and is proved, i.e. that " Lazarus was raised from 
death to life." 

Before stating the evidentiary facts to be offered 
to prove the " principal proposition," it seems neces- 
sary to note again the rule of evidence; namely, 
that " evidentiary facts " may in the process of in- 
*1 Wigmore on Ev. sec. 2. 



Miracles Examined Judicially 25 

vestigation become themselves " principal facts " 
to be established by other evidentiary facts until 
some ultimate evidentiary fact is reached. Here 
the principal proposition, the miracle of raising 
Lazarus from death, will be proved if the following 
evidentiary facts are established : ( 1 ) that the dead 
body of Lazarus was in a tomb in which it had lain 
four days; (2) that Jesus, at the open door of the 
tomb, said, " Lazarus, come forth," and immediate- 
ly Lazarus came forth from the tomb alive and con- 
tinued alive. But each of such facts evidentiary 
as related to the principal fact becomes a proposi- 
tion proper to be proved by other evidentiary facts. 

2. The answer to the second question, viz. the 
evidentiary facts to be produced to establish the 
principal proposition if found admissible, will be 
such portions of the Gospel of John as describe 
facts that are relevant and material — the separate 
items of fact — the facts described by the language. 

Bringing the issue now to trial, we offer, as evi- 
dence to maintain the issue on behalf of believing 
Christians, the Gospel of John, especially parts of 
John (chap. 11) relevant and material to the issue. 
John does not say in words, A miracle was wrought, 
but he sets down the facts — facts which, if compe- 
tent, constitute the transaction a miracle. 



26 Miracle and Science 

opponents' objections examined 

We here recognize the fact that all opponents in 
the contention here at issue have jural right to ob- 
ject to the proposed evidence, on the ground that 
it is unsworn or uncertified or is incompetent or 
immaterial — in short, on any and every rational 
ground. We will assume such objections are now 
here interposed. We recognize that the proposed 
evidence is to be held admissible only if, after full 
and due consideration of the rules and principles 
of jural science as administered in courts of justice, 
the evidence is found competent and proper, all ob- 
jections of opponents to the contrary notwithstand- 
ing. If those objections are not valid, the evidence 
must be received and given its due weight. 

Section II 

ANCIENT document evidence 

The Gospel of John is more than thirty years 
old. This brings it at once into a class of evidence 
expressly recognized and provided for by jural sci- 
ence, viz. the class of Ancient Documents. The 
experience and sagacity of ages have established a 
body of principles and law in regard to that class 
of evidence, particulars of which, including reasons 



Miracles Examined Judicially 27 

and grounds of the rule, we now adduce to meet 
any objections by negators against admitting the 
Gospel of John, or any part of it, as evidence on 
the issue on trial. 

TESTS OF THE VALIDITY OF EVIDENCE 

We recognize the rule, that ordinarily, when a 
document is offered in evidence, it must first be 
proved to have been executed. This proof of its 
genuineness is properly made by calling living wit- 
nesses, who were present and knew the execution 
of the document, to testify to the fact. This pro- 
cess of proving the genuineness of a document is 
what is known as confirmation or sanction by the 
ordinary tests of truth. 1 But jural science long 
ago established also other tests of the validity of 
documents as evidence. After a document has been 
executed, time passes, witnesses die, or are removed 
beyond the reach of subpoena, or process of courts. 
Hundreds of years ago, early in the establishment 
of the science of jurisprudence, it was found wise 
and just in experience, as well as indispensable for 
securing justice in its administration, to provide for 
saving the evidence of documents when death or 
effectual absence of witnesses prevents sanctioning 

1 1 Wharton on Ev. sec. 689, and cases cited. 



28 Miracle and Science 

such documents, by the testimony of living persons 
— the ordinary test of truth. 

That great jurist, Lord Mansfield, in a brief but 
pregnant decision, describes this feature of the law 
of evidence. 

A claimant of land, under an ancient will of one 
Ludlam, offered an alleged copy of the will in evi- 
dence, not being able to produce the original. His 
opponent strenuously objected to the alleged copy. 
In deciding the document was admissible as evi- 
dence, Lord Mansfield said: 

" The rule is clear, a man by losing evidence of 
his title does not lose his estate. If you cannot 
prove a deed by producing it, you may produce the 
counterpart ; if you cannot produce the counterpart 
you may produce a copy, even if you cannot prove 
it as a true copy. If a copy cannot be produced, 
you may go into parol evidence." 1 

In this decision Lord Mansfield enforced a pri- 
mary rule of competency of evidence — the rule 
that requires that the best evidence be produced. 

"As long ago as the fourteenth century the 
courts of England laid down the rule that a party 
must bring the best evidence he can and that if he 
did this, no more was required." 2 

^udlam's Will, Lofft. Rep. 362. 
8 2 Encyc. of Ev. 278. 



Miracles Examined Judicially 29 

" The effect of the rule is, that when, from the 
nature of the transaction, superior evidence may be 
presumed to be within the power of the party, that 
which is inferior will be excluded. But when it is 
manifest that evidence of a higher degree is not 
within the power of the party, that of a lower de- 
gree will be received; and the general rule never 
excludes the best evidence that can be produced." x 

The rule requiring the best evidence of which the 
nature of the case is susceptible is only another 
form of expression for the idea that when the 
higher proof is lost or is unattainable the best 
attainable may be given. 

" The law of evidence would have a poor claim 
to the praise justly bestowed upon it, if it did not 
foresee and provide for such a case as this. That 
rule which is the most universal, namely, that the 
best evidence the nature of the case will admit shall 
be produced, decides this objection; for it is only 
another form of expression for the idea, that when 
you have not the higher proof you may offer the 
next best in your power. The case admits of no 
better evidence than that which you possess, if the 
superior proof has been lost without your fault 
[italics by the Court]. The rule does not mean 
that men's rights are to be sacrificed and their prop- 
erty lost because they cannot guard against events 

Jackson v. Cullum, 2 Blackf. (Ind.) 228. 



30 Miracle and Science 

beyond their control. It only means that so long as 
the higher or superior evidence is within your pos- 
session, or may be reached by you, you shall give 
no inferior proof in relation to it." 1 

The Supreme Court of the United States, in 
a late case, stated the rule in reviewing the action 
of a lower court: 

" The rule on the subject does not exact that 
the loss or destruction of the document [the or- 
iginal] should be proved beyond all possibility 
of mistake. It only demands that a moral cer- 
tainty should exist that the Court had every 
opportunity for examining and deciding upon the 
best evidence within the power of the litigant to 
produce." 2 

EVIDENCE ANCIENT DOCUMENT RULE 

On the ground that the age of a generation 
was generally thirty years, and witnesses after 
maturity usually did not survive beyond such a 
generation of thirty years, it was ordained in ju- 
dicial science that the lapse of a period of thirty 
years after a document existed should be sufficient 
to justify the legal presumption that witnesses to a 
document of such age were dead or beyond the 
reach of the court; and it was ordained further 

1 Thomas v. Thomas, 2 La. O. S. 166. 

2 United States v. Sutter, 21 How. (U. S.) 170, 175. 



Miracles Examined Judicially 31 

that after a document had (1) existed thirty years, 
(2) been kept in proper custody, it should be an 
Ancient Document, be dealt with as such when 
offered in evidence ; and that such age and custody 
should sanction and authenticate the document 
without calling- witnesses to prove it. Greenleaf 
states the law as follows : 

" Where these instruments are more than thirty 
years old and are unblemished by any alterations, 
they are said to prove themselves; the bare pro- 
duction thereof is sufficient; the subscribing wit- 
nesses being presumed to be dead." 1 

Later, in stating an additional rule, that required 
generally the production of the identical subscrib- 
ing witnesses to a deed to prove it, Greenleaf says 
that there are exceptions to these rules : 

." The first is, where the instrument is thirty 
years old, as we have heretofore seen [ante, sec. 
21], the subscribing witnesses being presumed to 
be dead and other proof being presumed to be be- 
yond the reach of the party. But such document 
must be free from just grounds of suspicion, and 
must come from the proper custody .... and in 
this case it is not necessary to call the subscribing 
witnesses, though they may be living. . . . 

" This exception is co-extensive with the rule 

*1 Greenleaf on Ev. sec. 21, and cases cited. 



32 Miracle and Science 

applying to ancient writings of every description, 
providing they have been brought from the proper 
custody and place; for the finding them in such 
custody and place is a presumption that they were 
honestly and fairly obtained and preserved for use, 
and are free from suspicion of dishonesty." 1 

" Documents found in a place and under Care of 
persons with whom such papers might naturally 
and reasonably be expected to be found, or in the 
possession of persons having an interest in them, 
are in precisely the custody which gives authentic- 
ity to documents found within it. . . . 

" So far then as concerns the admission of An- 
cient Documents without direct proof of their 
execution, the above rule makes four require- 
ments : (a) the document must have been in exist- 
ence for thirty years; (b) it must have been found 
in the proper custody; (c) it must not have a sus- 
picious appearance; and (d) there must be (if it 
purports to convey -title to land) some attendant 
circumstance corroborating its genuineness — either 
possession of the land or some item of corrobora- 
tion. The rule may be applied to any kind of docu- 
ment. 2 And if the proper showing as above can be 

1 1 Greenleaf on Ev. sec. 570 and 575b ; 12 Viners Abr. 
84 tit. Evidence A.B. 5. pi. 7. cited by Ld. Ellenborough, 
G.J., in Roe v. Rawlings, 7 East 291. 

2 Doe v. Turnbull, 5 U. C. Q. B. 129 : " Any written 
document whatever"; Enfield v. Ellington, 67 Conn. 
459 ; Smucker v. Penn. R. Co., Pa., 41 Atl. 457 ; Almy v. 



Miracles Examined Judicially 33 

made, a copy may be used where the original is 
lost. 1 The circumstances above operate as suffi- 
cient evidence, not merely of the genuineness of 
signature, but also of other facts, going to consti- 
tute due execution, such as the existence of a power 
of attorney to make a deed." 2 

WRITINGS UNACKNOWLEDGED AND UNRECORDED 

As further illustrating the reason of the rule, we 
quote from the judgment of the Supreme Court of 
Equity of New Jersey. An ancient writing pur- 
porting to be a deed but unacknowledged and un- 
recorded was offered in evidence and objected to. 
The court held it admissible under the Ancient 
Document rule of evidence, saying: 

" Such account must be given of the deed as may 
reasonably be expected under all the circumstances 
of the case and as will afford a presumption that 
it is genuine. This definition has been approved. 
1 See 2 Phil. Ev. (4th Am. Ed.) 475, note 430 by 
C. & H.' . . . Neither party has shown possession ; 

Church, 18 R.I. 182; Aldrich v. Griffith, 66 Yt. 390: 
" Though the last requirement is not essential except for 
documents dealing with land" 

1 Greene v. Proude, 1 Mod. 117 ; N. Y. & N. H. Ry. Co. 
v. Benedict, 169 Mass. 262; Briggs v. Henderson, 49 Mo. 
531; Townsend v. Downer, 32 Vt. 183, 211. 

2 2 Greenleaf on Ev. sec. 575c, 16th Ed. ; Robinson v. 
Craig, 1 Hill, S. C. 389 ; King v. Little, 1 Cush. 436. 



34 Miracle and Science 

on the contrary both admit that the land has been 
vacant for a century so that possession speaks 
neither for nor against the deed. But the proofs 
show that just such use has been made of it [the 
document] and that just such claims have been 
made under it as would in the usual course of such 
transactions among men of a very early day have 
been made, had the persons dealing with it known 
it to be an honest paper. It has been dealt with, 
treated and preserved as an honest valid paper. . . . 
It should be admitted in evidence and full effect 
given to it." 1 

This has been the law of evidence in administer- 
ing judicial science for centuries. We find it ex- 
pressly adjudged in 44 Elizabeth, a.d. 1602, in a 
case cited, approved, and followed, viz. Wright v. 
Sherrard, 1 Keb. 877. The court says : "An ancient 
deed is good evidence without proving or seal on 
it as [a case] 44 Eliz." 

Many pages might be filled with citations of 
cases in which this law of evidence has been ex- 
pressly enforced. We will cite a sufficient number 
of decisions to show that jurists and courts of first 
rank in the world, with united voice, sanction and 
enforce the doctrine; to show the nature of the 
documents held to be embraced in the rule; the 

1 Havens v. Sea Shore Land Co. 47 N. J. Eq. 365. 



Miracles Examined Judicially 35 

kind of custody; that the rule embraces copies; 
and the cogency and value as evidence of such 
Ancient Documents, found in such custody. 

The Bishop of Meath v. Marquis of Winchester 
was a leading case in England, decided by Chief- 
Justice Tindall, and his associates on the bench. 

A simple, unsworn statement, over thirty years 
old, alleged to have been used by one Dopping, 
formerly Bishop, for the purpose of procuring an 
opinion of counsel, was offered in evidence but 
objected to. It was found in a house Dopping had 
occupied when Bishop, and which his descendants 
occupied after his death when the document was 
found. It was a mere statement of matters affect- 
ing the diocese and bishopric, but material on the 
contest between the new Bishop of Meath and the 
Marquis. Had it been less than thirty years old, it 
would not be admissible in evidence without being 
confirmed by the ordinary tests of truth, the sworn 
testimony of witnesses who knew it was so used 
by Dopping. But its antiquity, its preservation, 
and the custody in which it was found, sanctioned 
and confirmed it, and dispensed with - calling wit- 
nesses who knew its having been used by Dopping, 
and, under the Ancient Document rule of evidence, 
sufficed, instead of the sworn testimony of wit- 



36 Miracle and Science 

nesses, otherwise requisite to make it competent 
and admissible evidence. 

As to the objection to the custody, and the sanc- 
tion and authority claimed for the document by its 
preservation, its custody, and its age, the court 
said: 

" The document was found in a place in which 
and in the care of persons with whom papers of 
Bishop Dopping might naturally and reasonably 
be expected to be found, and it is precisely the 
custody which gives authenticity to documents 
found within it, for it is not necessary that they 
should be found in the best and most proper place 
of deposit. If documents continue in such custody, 
there never would be any question as to their 
authenticity; but it is when the documents are 
found in other than the proper place of deposit 
that the investigation commences, whether it was 
reasonable and natural under the circumstances in 
the particular case to expect that they should have 
been in the place where they are actually found; 
for it is obvious that while there can be only one 
place of deposit strictly and absolutely proper, 
there may be various and many that are reasonable 
and probable, though differing in degree; some 
being more, some less; and in those cases the 
proposition to be determined is whether the actual 
custody is so reasonably and properly accounted 



Miracles Examined Judicially 37 

for that it impresses the mind with the conviction 
that the instrument found in such custody must be 
genuine ; that such is the character and description 
of the custody which is held sufficiently genuine to 
render a document admissible appears from all the 
cases." 1 

It is this defect, namely, that they do not come 
from the proper or natural depository, which 
shows the fabulous character of many pretended 
revelations, from the " Gospel of the Infancy " to 
the "Book of Mormon." 

Chief- Justice Holt says: "An old deed is good 
evidence without any witness to swear it was exe- 
cuted." 2 

" It is an established rule which holds in the case 
of every deed that if it is above thirty years old it 
proves itself." 3 

Lord Chief- Justice Kenyon says: "All deeds 
above thirty years old prove themselves." 4 

The Supreme Court of the United States ap- 
proves and enforces this doctrine, and has done so 
again and again. In a comparatively late case 
(1885) it enforced the doctrine as to persons not 

1 Bishop of Meath v. Marquis of Winchester, 3 Bing. 
N. S. 183. 

2 Lynch v. Clarke, 3 Salk. 154. 

8 R. v. Farrington, 2 T.R. 466, Buller, Judge. 

4 Chelsea Water Works Co. v. Cowper, 1 Esp. 275. 



38 Miracle and Science 

parties or privies to the document. Two deeds, 
each over thirty years old, had been found shortly 
before the case was tried in the lower court — 
found among the files of another suit of July^ 1816. 
These deeds were offered in evidence and strenu- 
ously objected to, but the court held them admissi- 
ble under the Ancient Document rule of evidence, 
without proving their execution. The court held 
that " the record of the case [including the deeds 
found in the files] was admissible against persons 
not parties or privies to prove the collateral fact 
of the antiquity of the original deeds offered in 
evidence and ' to account for the custody,' " citing 
Barr v. Gratz, 4 Wheat. U. S. Rep. 213-220. 1 

ANCIENT DOCUMENT RULE APPLIES TO ALL KINDS 
OF WRITINGS 

" The probative value of the circumstances of 
age, custody and the like as evidence of genuine- 
ness exist equally for all sorts of documents. 2 The 
rule is not confined to deeds or wills, but extends 
to letters and other Ancient Documents coming 
from proper custody. 3 Any instrument of that age, 

1 Apple Gate v. Lexington Mining Co., 117 U. S. Rep. 
255, 261. 

2 3 Wigmore on Ev. sec. 2145. 

3 Wyman v. Tyrwhitt, 4 B. & Aid. 376 ; see Doe v. Turn- 
bull, 5 U. C. Q. B. 129. 



Miracles Examined Judicially 39 

whether deed or will or other instrument, proves 
itself." 1 



All kinds of. documents of the prescribed age and 
custody have been expressly adjudged competent 
evidence in unnumbered instances. 

We note a few as samples of what writings are 
within the rule: Parish Terrier, i.e. list of tem- 
poral property of a church, 2 lease, 3 marriage set- 
tlement, 4 old plan found in hands of man who had 
been town clerk, 5 a sequestrator's account, 6 en- 
tries in a Bible, 7 letters, 8 surveyor's memorandum 
indorsed on a land-warrant. 9 

A late and exhaustive work on Evidence devotes 
a section to showing the kinds of documents that 
are under the rule, and the persons in whose favor 
the rule is enforced. 10 

1 Do© v. Budett, 4 A. & E. 1, 19. 

2 Atkins v. Hatton, 2 Anstr. 386. 

3 Rees v. Walters, 3 M. & W. 527. 

4 Adams v. Dickerson, 23 Ga. 406. 
6 Gibson v. Poor, 21 N. H. 440. 

6 Pulley v. Hilton, 12 Price 625. 

7 Hubbard v. Lees, L. R., 1 Exch. 255. 

8 Bell v. Brewster, 44 O. St. 690 ; Doe v. Benyon, L. R. 
4, P. & Dav. 193 ; Bear v. Ward, cited in Starkie on Ev. 
p. 522 ; Rex v. Inhabitants of Bathwick, 2 B. & Ad. 639 ; 
Roe d. Brune v. Rawlings, 7 East 279. 

9 Holt v. Maverick, 5 Tex. Civ. App. 650. 
10 Elliott on Ev. sec. 428. 



© 



40 Miracle and Science 

"Although the most common use of such docu- 
ments in evidence is as the basis of some claim of 
right asserted under such documents, nevertheless 
they are admissible for any other purpose; and 
parties not privy to them may bring them into 
court as any other instruments duly authenti- 
cated." 1 

COPIES EQUALLY WITH ORIGINALS EMBRACED IN 
THE RULE 

As already noted, when original documents have 
been lost, worn out, or injured, or cannot be pro- 
duced, a copy is competent and admissible in 
evidence under the Ancient Document rule of evi- 
dence. 

Baron Gilbert in his work on Evidence, after 
stating that generally an unauthorized enrolment, 
or an inspeximus (an exemplification), is not re- 
ceivable in evidence, says: 

" But the inspeximus of an Ancient Deed may 
be given in evidence, though the deeds needed no 
enrollment ; for an Ancient Deed may be easily sup- 

1 Morris v. Callahan, 105 Mass. 129; Adams v. Stan- 
yan, 24 N. H. 405 ; Dobson v. Finley, 8 Jones N. O. 495 ; 
King v. Sears, 91 Ga. 577; Deary v. Gray, 5 Wall. (U. 
S.) 795; Doe v. Campbell, 10 John (N. Y.) 475; John- 
son v. Shaw, 6 Tex. Civ. App. 493 ; Fulkerson v. Holmes, 
117 U. S. 298; McClusky v. Barr, 47 Fed. 154; Eex v. 
Long Buckey, 7 East 45. 



^ Miracles Examined Judicially 41 

posed to be worn out or lost, and offering the 
inspeximus in evidence, induces no suspicion that 
the deed is doubtful, for it hath a sanction from 
antiquity, and if it had been ill executed, it must be 
supposed to be detected when newly made." x 

" When the alleged Ancient Document is lost 
and an Ancient Purporting Copy is offered, made 
by a private hand and the purporting maker being 
unknown or deceased, it seems to have been ac- 
cepted, that this suffices and that the copy may be 
received under the Ancient Document Rule." 2 

The decisions sustain the doctrine. 3 

ACCOUNTING FOR LOSS OF ORIGINALS, DISPENSED 

WITH IN CASES OF VERY ANCIENT 

DOCUMENTS 

We note here some instances, to illustrate what 
copies of instruments have been adjudged admissi- 
ble under the rule when the original is lost, de- 
stroyed, worn out, or mutilated; namely, copy of 
Ancient Power of Attorney to convey land ; 4 copy 

1 Gilbert on Ev. p. 99, citing decisions Goodson v. 
Jones, Styles Rep. 445 (a.d. 1655) and 5 Co. 54 and 
Salk. 280. 

a 3 Wigmore on Ev. sec. 2143. 

8 Green v. Proude, 1 Mod. 117 ; Almy v. Church, 18 R. I. 
182 ; Ludlam's Will, Lofft. Rep. 362 ; Aldrich v. Griffith, 
66 Vt. 390 ; Bradley v. Lightcap, 201 111. 511 ; Gibbons v. 
Poor, 21 N. H. 440. 

4 Win v. Patterson, 9 Pet. U. S. 663. 



42 Miracle and Science 

of Ancient Indenture of Apprenticeship, even 
though the proper office does not show the original 
had been stamped or recorded as required by law ; x 
Ancient Copy of lost Vicars endowment. 2 

Accounting for loss of an original is done, as 
the New York Supreme Court says, " by the best 
evidence the case admits of." 3 

In fact, circumstances and conditions, including 
efflux of time, without direct proof of loss, justify 
the legal presumption and justify acting on that 
presumption, that an original Ancient Document 
once existed but has been worn out or lost, or has 
perished, and copies in such case are admissible in 
evidence under the Ancient Document rule, as 
Lord Mansfield expressly held in Ludlam's Will 
Case (ante, p. 28), even if you cannot bring wit- 
nesses to prove that the copy has been compared 
with the original. 

This doctrine was decreed by the Supreme Court 

of Ohio (a.d. 1847) in a case in which an alleged 

copy of power of attorney to convey land had been 

acted on for a long time, forty years or more, but 

no account could be given of loss or absence of the 

1 Rex v. Long Buckey, 7 East 45. 
8 Tucker v. Wilkins, 4 >Sim. 241. 

8 Fetherly v. Waggner, 11 Wend. 599; Havens v. Sea 
Shore Land Co. 47 N. J. Eq. 365. 



Miracles Examined Judicially 43 

original, or that the alleged copy had been com- 
pared with the original. In deciding the document 
was admissible as evidence, the court said: 

" Those living at its date and who could have 
testified concerning the original, have departed 
from the scene of action. It was acted on more 
than forty years ago, and for many years after its 
date, and treated as a genuine instrument by those 
who were interested in knowing it was a valid 
power. . . . Under this state of facts it may be pre- 
sumed, and we are satisfied that the presumption 
is the truth, that there was an original of which 
this is an exact copy." 1 

ANCIENT COPY LIKE BIBLE COPIES 

On this doctrine, the case of Attorney-General v. 
Boultbee, decided in the High Court of Chancery 
of England, a.d. 1794, reported in 2 Vesey, Jr., 380, 
and on appeal in 3 Vesey, Jr., 220, is highly import- 
ant and instructive because of the marked identity 
of character in the conditions (affecting its com- 
petency as evidence) of the alleged copy of 
document in that case with the Bible copies of doc- 
uments as we have them to-day. The case involved 

1 Webster v. Harris, 16 O. 490. 'See, too, to same doc- 
trine, Beard v. Byan, 78 Ala. 37; Allison v. Little, 85 
Ala. 512; also Havens v. Sea Shore Land Co. 47 N. J. 
Eq. 365. 



44 Miracle and Science 

an alleged trust. It was of such importance as to 
require as plaintiff the highest law officer of Great 
Britain, the Attorney-General. The alleged date 
of the trust was a.d. 1653, one hundred and forty- 
one years before the trial. Those interested in the 
trust offered in evidence a paper as a copy of an 
alleged original writing creating the trust, which 
opponents resisted. 

We note the identity of conditions of that al- 
leged copy and that of the Bible documents. In 
that case, as in the case of the Bible documents, 
only an alleged copy could be produced. Likewise 
no witness could be produced to prove the execu- 
tion or existence of the original, or to account for 
loss or destruction of the original, or any evidence 
to account for the absence of the original save the 
very long lapse of time. The alleged copy in that 
case, like the Bible documents, as expressly stated 
in the report, had " neither date nor signature." 
Furthermore, like the Bible documents, no proof 
could be given that the alleged copy had ever been 
compared with the original, but, as in the case of the 
Bible documents, the paper was more than thirty 
years old, and those living at the time of the trans- 
actions described in the copy, and who could have 
testified concerning the original, had long before 



Miracles Examined Judicially 45 

departed from the scene of action — the paper had 
been kept in proper custody and from the first when 
contents of the paper came to be acted on it had been 
dealt with and acted upon as a valid copy of a valid 
original. In short, the conditions and circumstances 
of the paper affecting its competency and admissi- 
bility as evidence were identical in all material re- 
spects with the conditions and circumstances of the 
Bible documents as they now exist. After argu- 
ment by eminent counsel and thorough considera- 
tion, the court held the alleged copy competent and 
admissible, and that it should be received and given 
effect as evidence according to its full extent and 
import. On appeal to the Lord High Chancellor 
of England, that eminent jurist called in the chief- 
justices of the other National courts of England, 
the Lord Chief- Justice Eyre and the Lord Chief 
Baron McDonald, to act in the case. Their decision 
was unanimous, affirming the judgment of the 
lower court in all respects. 

BIBLE DOCUMENTS WITHIN THE RULE GREENLEAF 

That great jurist, Simon Greenleaf, eminent au- 
thority on the law of evidence on both sides of the 
Atlantic, some years ago carefully examined the 
identical question we are here considering; viz. 



46 Miracle and Science 

Are the books of the Bible, including the Gospel of 
John, when tested by the principles and rules oc 
the science of jurisprudence and evidence as ad- 
ministered in courts of justice, admissible in evi- 
dence to prove the facts recorded therein? An 
extended extract from his decision follows. The 
ample review we have just made of decisions and 
announcements of the law on the subject by courts 
and jurists foremost in standing and authority in 
the judicial world, extending back for more than 
three hundred years, will enable the reader to see 
that the judgment of Professor Greenleaf is not 
only fully sustained, but might have been, if possi- 
ble, more emphatic in affirming the competency 
and admissibility in evidence of the Gospel of John, 
as well as other books of the Bible, under the An- 
cient Document rule of evidence. 
Professor Greenleaf says : x 

" That the Books of the Old Testament as we 
now have them are genuine; that they existed in 
the time of our Savior and were commonly re- 
ceived and referred to among the Jews as the sa- 
cred books of their religion; and that the text of 
the Four Evangelists has been handed down to us 
in the state in which it was originally written, that 

1 Test. of the Evang. pp. 7-11. 



Miracles Examined Judicially 47 

is, without having been materially corrupted or 
falsified, either by heretics or Christians; are facts 
which we are entitled to assume as true until the 
contrary is shown. 

" The genuineness of these writings really ad- 
mits of as little doubt and is as susceptible of as 
ready proof as that of any ancient writings what- 
ever. The rule of municipal law on this subject is 
familiar, and applies with equal force to all ancient 
writings, whether documentary or otherwise; and 
as it comes first in order in the prosecution of these 
inquiries, it may for the sake of convenience be 
designated as our first rule. 

" Every document apparently ancient coming 
from the proper custody and bearing on its face no 
evident marks of forgery, the law presumes to be 
genuine and devolves on the opposite party the bur- 
den of proving it to be otherwise. 

"An Ancient Document offered in evidence in 
our courts is said to come from the proper reposi- 
tory when it is found in the place where and under 
the care of persons with whom such writings might 
naturally and reasonably be expected to be found; 
for it is this custody which gives authenticity to 
documents found within it. If they come from 
such a place, and bear no evident marks of forgery, 
the law presumes that they are genuine, and they 
are permitted to be read in evidence, unless the 
opposite party is able to successfully impeach them. 
The burden of showing them false and unworthy 



48 Miracle and Science 

of credit is devolved upon the party who makes 
that objection. The presumption of the law is the 
judgment of charity. It presumes that every man 
is innocent until he is proved guilty; that every- 
thing has been done fairly and legally until it is 
proved to have been otherwise ; and that every doc- 
ument found in the proper repository, and not 
having marks of forgery, is genuine. Now this is 
precisely the case with the Sacred Writings. They 
have been used in the Church from time immemor- 
ial, and thus are found in the place where alone 
they ought to be looked for. They come to us and 
challenge our reception of them as genuine writings 
precisely as Domesday Book, the Ancient Statutes 
of Wales, or any other of the ancient documents, 
which have recently been published under the Brit- 
ish Record Commission are received. They are 
found in familiar use in all the churches of Chris- 
tendom, as the sacred books to which all denomi- 
nations of Christians refer as the standard of their 
faith. There is no pretence that they were en- 
graven on plates of gold and discovered in a cave, 
nor that they were brought from heaven by angels ; 
but they are received as the plain narratives and 
writings of the men whose names they respectively 
bear, made public at the time they were written; 
and though there are some slight discrepancies 
among the copies subsequently made, there is no 
pretence that the originals were anywhere cor- 
rupted. If it be objected that the originals are 



Miracles Examined Judicially 49 

lost and that copies alone are now produced, the 
principles of the municipal law here also afford a 
satisfactory answer. For the multiplication of 
copies was a public fact in the faithfulness of 
which all the Christian communities had been in- 
terested and it is a rule of law that — 

" In matters of public and general interest, all 
persons must be presumed to be conversant on the 
principle that ' individuals are presumed to be con- 
versant with their own affairs.' 

" Therefore it is that in such matters the pre- 
vailing current of assertion is resorted to as evi- 
dence, for it is to this that every member of the 
community is supposed to be privy. 1 The persons, 
moreover, who multiplied these copies may be re- 
garded in some manner as the agents of the Chris- 
tian public for whose use and benefit the copies 
were made; and on the ground of the credit due 
to such agents and of the public nature of the facts 
themselves, the copies thus made are entitled to an 
extraordinary degree of confidence, and as in the 
case of official registers and other public books, 
it is not necessary that they should be confirmed 
or sanctioned by the ordinary tests of truth. 2 If 
any ancient document concerning our public rights 

1 Morewood v. Wood, 14 East 329, n. per Ld. Kenyon; 
Weeks v. Sparks, 1 M. & S. 686; Berkley Peerage Case, 
4 Camp. 416, per Mansfield, Ch. J. ; see 1 Greenleaf on 
Ev. sec. 128. 

2 Starkie on Ev. 95, 320 ; 1 Greenleaf on Ev. see. 483. 



50 Miracle and Science 

were lost, copies of which had been as universally- 
received and acted on as the Four Gospels have been, 
would have been received in evidence in any of our 
Courts of Justice without the slightest hesitation. 
The entire text of the Corpus Juris Civilis is received 
as authority in all the courts of Continental Europe, 
upon much weaker evidence of its genuineness ; for 
the integrity of the Sacred Text has been preserved 
by the jealousy of opposing sects beyond any moral 
possibility of corruption; while that of the Roman 
Civil Law has been preserved by tacit consent 
without the interest of any opposing school to 
watch over and preserve it from alteration. 

" These copies of the Holy Scriptures, having 
thus been in familiar use in the churches from the 
time when the text was committed to writing ; hav- 
ing been watched with vigilance by so many sects 
opposed to each other in doctrine, yet all appealing 
to these Scriptures for the correctness of their 
faith ; and having in all ages down to this day been 
respected as the authoritative source of all ecclesi- 
astical power and government and submitted to 
and acted under in regard to so many claims of 
right on the one hand and so many obligations of 
duty on the other ; it is quite erroneous to suppose 
that the Christian is bound to offer any further 
proof of their genuineness or authenticity. It is 
for the objector to show them spurious; for on 
him by the plainest rules of law lies the burden of 
proof. // it were the case of a claim to a fran- 



Miracles Examined Judicially 51 

chise and a copy of an ancient deed or charter 
were produced under parallel circumstances on 
which to presume its genuineness, no lawyer it is 
believed would venture to deny either its admissi- 
bility in evidence or the satisfactory character of 
the proof. In a recent case in the House of Lords, 
precisely such a document being an old manuscript 
copy purporting to have been extracted from an- 
cient Journals of the House which were lost and to 
have been made by an officer whose duty it was to 
prepare lists of the peers, was held admissible on 
the claim of peerage." x 

Section III 

EVIDENCE COMPETENT 

The specific question before us is that of the 

competency and admissibility of the Gospel of John 

as evidence on the " issue " on the verity of the 

miracle of raising Lazarus from death to life, 

which is here on trial, assuming objections have 

been made to receiving it. The test and standard 

of competency and admissibility as evidence of the 

Bible Documents of Professor Greenleaf affirmed 

by us has been examined. As specifically applied 

to the present " issue " and the Gospel of John, that 

standard and test is : " If the Gospel of John as 

1 Slane Peerage, 5 Clark & F. 23 ; Fitzwalter Peerage, 
10 Id. 946. 



52 Miracle and Science 

an Ancient Document, or copy thereof, supposing 
it to be relevant and material to the issue in a ques- 
tion of property or personal rights, between man and 
man, in a court of justice, ought to be admitted as 
evidence and have weight, then upon like principles 
it ought to receive our entire credit here." 

We have examined the actual decisions of the 
highest courts of jurisprudence for more than three 
hundred years last past, decisions rendered by those 
courts in deciding most momentous questions of 
property and personal rights between man and 
man. We have found a consensus of unnumbered 
decisions by those courts and by judges and jurists 
of the highest authority and standing in the civil- 
ized world, and they show that the Gospel of John, 
like the other books of the Scriptures, is clearly 
within the Ancient Document rule and law of evi- 
dence, and clearly satisfies the test and standard 
proposed, and show that that Gospel, tested by the 
principles and rules of the science of jurisprudence 
as administered in courts of justice in controversies 
between man and man, is competent and admissi- 
ble as evidence. On like principles (as in any 
forum conscientiae) it is competent and admissible 
evidence on the " issue " here on trial and should 
receive credence accordingly. 



Miracles Examined Judicially 53 

We therefore now introduce in evidence the Gos- 
pel of John as an Ancient Document, especially 
parts thereof relevant to the " issue," viz. as partic- 
ular, subsidiary, evidentiary facts, and cite the verse 
or verses in which the fact is recorded. 

FACTS 

Lazarus was a man residing at Bethany, a vil- 
lage situated about fifteen fur|ongs from Jerusalem 
(John 11:18). ^"^ 

Mary and Martha were sisters of Lazarus, and 
the three were beloved by Jesus (John 11 :5, 21, 32). 

Lazarus was sick, and his malady became so se- 
rious that his sisters became alarmed. Evidently 
hoping that Jesus would cure Lazarus, the sisters 
sent a message to Jesus, who was absent (John 
11:3, 21, 23). 

Jesus received the message, and, after receiving 
it, stayed two days in the place where he received 
it; during which time Lazarus died (John 11:6). 

Jesus then informed the disciples that accom- 
panied him that Lazarus was dead (John 11:14). 

Jesus announced to his disciples his determina- 
tion to return again to Judaea, where the home of 
Lazarus had been (John 11:7, 15). 

Jesus and his disciples returned to Bethany, and 



54 Miracle and Science 

found that the dead body of Lazarus had been 
buried and lain in the tomb four days (John 
11:17). 

When Jesus arrived at Bethany he found many 
of the Jews attendant at the home of Mary and 
Martha, met to mourn with the sisters over the 
death of Lazarus (John 11:19, 31). 

The sisters, Mary and Martha, each met Jesus 
on his arrival at Bethany, and each said to Jesus, 
" Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had 
not died" (John 11:21, 32). 

Jesus told Martha that Lazarus should rise again 
from death, which Martha said she believed would 
occur " in the resurrection at the last day " (John 
11:23, 24). 

The grief of Mary over the death of Lazarus, 
and that of the Jews also weeping with her, was 
manifested with such intensity that Jesus, sympa- 
thizing, wept also (John 11:35). 

At Jesus' request, Mary and Martha and the 
friends in their company conducted Jesus and his 
disciples to the tomb, in which lay the dead body 
of Lazarus. " It was a cave, and a stone lay against 
it" (John 11:38, Am. Rev.). 

The document shows that, besides Jesus and his 
disciples and Mary and Martha, there was a con- 



Miracles Examined Judicially 55 

siderable concourse of Jews met to sympathize with 
Mary and Martha over the death of Lazarus (John 

ii). 

In the presence of this considerable assembly, 
immediately at the door of the tomb in which the 
dead body of Lazarus lay enshrouded in grave- 
clothes, Jesus ordered the stone to be taken away, 
" Martha, the sister of him that was dead," pro- 
tested against opening the tomb, because Lazarus' 
body had been dead for four days, decay had com- 
menced an44he body stank (John 11:39). 

In obedience, however, to Jesus' command, those 
present removed the stone from the door of the 
tomb (John 11:41). 

Then, after brief prayer, Jesus at the door of 
the tomb spoke with a loud voice, " Lazarus, come 
forth." Immediately " he that was dead came 
forth, bound hand and foot with grave-clothes; 
and his face was bound about with a napkin," and 
Jesus said, " Loose him, and let him go " (John 
11:43,44). 

Between one and two months later Jesus came 
again to Bethany, " where Lazarus was whom 
Jesus raised from the dead," and a feast was spread 
for Jesus, and " Lazarus was one of them that sat 
at meat" (John 12:1, 2). 



56 Miracle and Science 

At that time " the common people therefore of 
the Jews learned that he was there ; and they came, 
not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see 
Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead " 
(John 12:9, Am. Rev.). 

The chief priests, hostile to Jesus, when in- 
formed of the raising of Lazarus from death, took 
counsel to put Lazarus to death, because many 
Jews were led to believe on Jesus by reason of his 
raising Lazarus from death (John 12: 10, 11). 

A few days later, when the Lord made triumphant 
entry into Jerusalem and the attention of the vast 
assembly of people at the great feast had been 
called to the fact of raising Lazarus from death, 
" the multitude that was with him [Jesus] when he 
called Lazarus out of the tomb, and raised him 
from the dead, bare witness " ; that is, that multi- 
tude that was present when Lazarus was raised 
from death, testified to the verity of the miracle to 
the people gathered at Jerusalem (John 12:17). 

" For this cause also the multitude went and met 
him, for that they heard that he had done this sign " 
(John 12:18). 

All these separate items, evidentiary facts, are 
ordinary testimony. Mary and Martha were per- 
fectly competent witnesses to know and testify to 



Miracles Examined Judicially 57 

the sickness, death, and burial of Lazarus, and that 
he had been dead and buried four days before Jesus 
had the tomb opened. The neighbors of Mary and 
Martha were also competent witnesses to know 
and testify to the death and sepulture of Lazarus. 
All of them, and John who wrote the document, 
were competent to observe and testify to the trans- 
actions detailed that took place at the tomb when 
Lazarus came forth from it alive, and that he con- 
tinued alive. 

Each and all the items of evidence are of mat- 
ters plain and simple in their nature, easily seen, and 
capable of being readily and accurately observed, 
scrutinized, comprehended, and detailed in testi- 
mony by witnesses who are of ordinary capacity and 
observation. The amount of competent evidence is 
abundant, unimpeached, and uncontradicted. 

RESULT OF TRIAL 

The evidence would require, at the hands of a 
jury, a verdict embodying these facts: (1) that 
Lazarus was dead ; ( 2 ) that Jesus spoke over the 
dead body of Lazarus the words " Lazarus, come 
forth," and immediately Lazarus' dead body was 
alive; and (3) that Lazarus came forth from the 
tomb alive, and continued alive. 



58 Miracle and Science 

A juror would violate his oath if he refused to 
find such verdict on that evidence. A contrary ver- 
dict would be set aside by a court as not only con- 
trary to the evidence, but perverse. In short the 
miracle is proved by competent evidence. 

The fact that Lazarus was dead and at the fiat 
words of Jesus he was immediately alive and con- 
tinued alive, establishes the transaction a miracle as 
tested by any standard definition; and the proof is 
by human testimony. 

Nay, the facts proved constitute the transaction 
a miracle, tested even by Mr. Hume's own defini- 
tion embraced in his proposition heie in issue, i.e. 
"A miracle is a violation of the laws of nature." 
The word " violation " so used seems plainly po- 
lemic, but cannot rationally mean other than that 
a miracle thwarts or frustrates the operation of the 
laws of nature. 

It is undoubtedly a law of nature that the dead 
body of a man remains dead. It at once com- 
mences to decompose, continues to decompose, and 
returns to dust. But Lazarus' dead body did not 
remain dead, did not return to dust, but became 
alive and continued alive. These facts, thwarting, 
frustrating, the operation of the laws of nature, 
were clearly and abundantly proved by a multitude 



Miracles Examined Judicially 59 

of competent witnesses — by human testimony. 
Tested even by Mr. Hume's own definition, the 
transaction was proved a miracle, and is proved a 
verity, and the proof is by human testimony. 

This review of the law and evidence on the 
" issue " tried justifies the conclusion that the mir- 
acles of the Bible are capable of being proved, and 
are proved, by existing available evidence — evi- 
dence competent, proper, and admissible under the 
rules and standards of the science of jurisprudence 
as administered in courts of justice of enlightened 
nations of the earth; also the miracles of the Bible 
are verities tested by the same standards by which 
fact and truth are established on all questions be- 
tween man and man in which fact and truth depend 
on and are ascertained and are established through 
evidence. 



CHAPTER III 

FUNCTION OF MIRACLE 

"The testimonies of God are true: the testimonies of 
God are perfect : the testimonies of God are all-sufficient 
unto that end for which they were given." 

Hookeb, Ecclesiastical Polity, ii. 8. 

A miracle is the product of the special fiat of 
Deity. Inherent in the fiat of God is intelligent 
purpose. Miracle executes that purpose. Hence 
the function of miracle in each instance is found in, 
and conforms to, the purpose for which it is 
wrought. 

The first miracles recorded — those of creation — 
seem related to man only prospectively. Their 
evidential value is indirect or incidental, e.g., " In 
the beginning God created the heavens" (Gen. 
1:1); "The heavens declare the glory of God" 
(Ps. 19:1). The several and successive miracles of 
creation, including creation of man in the " image 
and likeness " of God, taken collectively, and con- 
sidered in connection with the benignant act of 
Deity in endowing man with dominion over ma- 
terial creation, with its unmeasured capacities for 
blessing, in evidential value are profound, and de- 
monstrate that " God is love" (1 John 4:8, 16). 



Function of Miracle 61 

Miracles inflicting penalty on Adam, on Cain; 
translation of Enoch; the Deluge; confusion of 
language at Babel; destruction of Sodom and Go- 
morrah; staying Abraham's hand from sacrificing 
his son; feeding the Hebrews in their wilderness 
journey, and other like miracles, performed func- 
tions of retribution, reward, administration, mercy, 
etc. They teach that God's moral government of 
man is sanctioned by rewards for obeying his law, 
and punishment for sin, which is the transgression 
of that law. 

MIRACLE — THE TESTIMONY OF GOD 

Pretermitting special examination of other func- 
tions of miracles as disclosed by the record, we pro- 
pose to limit our further examination to inquiry as 
to the function of miracle as evidence, by examining 
a sufficient number of instances to discover what 
truth they establish on the questions proposed. 

It is a doctrine held by Christians from the be- 
ginning that miracles are the testimony of God when 
wrought to authenticate his message to men, or his 
messengers in his service. Do the Ancient Docu- 
ments of the Bible as evidence prove this Chris- 
tian doctrine true? More definitely, Has God made 
his miracles to be his testimony to authenticate his 



62 Miracle and Science 

messages, his revelations to men, and ordained his 
miracles to be used as such evidence? As revela- 
tion distinguished from inspiration is involved in 
this question, we notice the discrimination: Reve- 
lation, in theology, is that which God makes of 
himself and his will to his creatures of truths 
which could not be ascertained by natural means. 
Revelation differs from inspiration, the latter being 
an exaltation of the natural faculties, the former a 
communication through them, not otherwise obtain- 
able, not otherwise known (Cent. Diet.). 

At that first meeting with his apostles by the risen 
Christ, he opened " their understanding, that they 
might understand the Scriptures" (Luke 24:45). 
Revelation gives knowledge affecting man and his 
eternal as well as present welfare — knowledge man 
could not otherwise ascertain or know. Recogniz- 
ing God as supreme and sovereign, one finds in rev- 
elation that otherwise unascertainable knowledge 
indispensable for man's deepest need and daily life ; 
and in honest thought one sees it not irrational nor 
inconsistent with sound philosophy to believe God 
has made special revelations of himself and his will 
to man for man's welfare, or that the Scriptures of 
the Old and the New Testament record such reve- 
lations. 



Function of Miracle 63 

President Mark Hopkins on this subject says: 

" That God could give such revelation and con- 
firm it by miracle every Theist must admit; and 
the simple question is whether as a free agent and 
a moral Governor (for I acknowledge no man a 
Theist who does not admit those characteristics of 
God) he would think it best to give such a revela- 
tion I know not why it should be con- 
sidered so strange a thing that God should make 
such a revelation to man. If I mistake not, it would 
have been much stranger if he had not. It may be 
strange that he should have created the world at 
all, or put such a being as a man upon it, but if we 
believe that God made him with a rational and re- 
ligious nature — a child capable of communion with 
liim and of finding in him only the highest source 
of happiness and means of moral perfection — it 
would be exceedingly strange if God should not re- 
veal himself to him. Shall not a father speak to 

his own child? There is nothing strange 

either in the nature of the case, or in the instincts 
of humanity with which infidels have invested a 
revelation of God; but the reverse. It is strange 
that God is. In one sense everything is strange, 
and equally so. But supposing God to be and to 
make such a creature as man, a being capable of 
religion, requiring it in order to the development 
of the highest part of his nature and then not com- 
municate with him as a father in those revelations 



64 Miracle and Science 

which alone could perfect that nature, would be a 
reproach upon God and a contradiction." x 

MIRACLE EVIDENCE — ABRAHAM 

The miracle recorded in Genesis 15 is highly in- 
structive on the question we are considering. God 
had called Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees into 
Canaan, and had revealed to him his purpose to 
give Abraham " this land to inherit it." The reve- 
lation included inheritance and was plain in its 
terms, but Abraham was childless and in a sense 
of ownership was landless. Abraham, therefore, 
sought from God evidence that should authenticate 
the revelation. Abraham said, " Lord Jehovah, 
whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it ? " 
(Gen. 15:8). God did not condemn Abraham's re- 
quest as lacking proper trust in God's promise ; but 
on the contrary respected it, and ordained a miracle 
to ratify and authenticate the revelation. Scholars 
inform us that in that ancient time the very sol- 
emn form of ratifying a contract consisted in draw- 
ing the blood from an animal, dividing its carcass 
lengthwise as nearly as possible into two equal 
parts, which, being placed opposite to each other at 
a short distance, the covenanting parties approached 
1 Hopkins, Lowell Lectures, no. ii. 



Function of Miracle 65 

at opposite ends of the passage, and, meeting in the 
middle, took the customary oath, a practice by no 
means peculiar to the Jews. 1 Jehovah ordered 
Abraham to take three designated animals and two 
birds for the ceremony. Abraham complied, divid- 
ing the animals and " laying each half over against 
the other " ; and in due time God ratified and 
authenticated the revelation to Abraham. This was 
done by miracle. When the sun went down and it 
was dark, the objective features of the miracle — 
(1) a smoking furnace and (2) a flaming torch — 
passed between those parts of the three animals, so 
prepared, as God himself had ordained for that 
purpose. 

In connection with that miracle testimony of God, 
confirming his covenant with Abraham, God re- 
vealed to him : " Know of a surety " that, after four 
hundred years and enduring affliction, your seed 
shall inherit the land. The plain function of this 
miracle was, as God's evidence, to authenticate and 
confirm that revelation, which evidence should 
stand as sure foundation for faith in the revelation 
to Abraham then, and through renewals to Isaac 
(Gen. 26:3), to Jacob (Gen. 35:12), and through 

1 Bush, Notes on Gen. 27:7. An instance is recorded 
in Jer. 34:18. 



66 Miracle and Science 

Jacob to Joseph (Gen. 48:3, 4, 21), and through 
Joseph again to all the patriarchs, his brethren 
(Gen. 50:24), and through them to all Abraham's 
seed to the end of the four hundred years, as the 
record shows it did, even to Moses in his young 
manhood, and to Israel, through all the vicissitudes 
of- their foretold afflictions in the dark days of 
Egyptian bondage and cruel murder of infants, be- 
fore the Exodus. The evidence here is express and 
conclusive that God made his miracle to be his 
testimony to authenticate and verify his great re- 
velation and promise to Abraham and his seed ; also 
that God expressly ordained his miracle to be used 
as such evidence for such purpose. 

GIDEON — SYMBOLISM 

When God called Gideon from humble life to 
raise an army and repel from Israel the marauding 
army of Midian, the magnitude of the task seems 
to have so appalled Gideon that he humbly prayed 
God to enlighten him by God's own evidence. 
Gideon framed his question: Lord, is this which 
purports to be thy call to me, verily thy call? If 
yea, answer by flooding with dew this fleece I lay 
on this dry threshing-floor, and let the floor be dry. 
God answered Gideon's question, yea, by depositing 



Function of Miracle 67 

abundant dew on the fleece but none on the dry- 
floor. The duty was so heavy that Gideon again 
shrank, and humbly prayed the Lord : " Let not 
thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but 
this once ; let me prove, I pray thee, but this once 
with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the 
fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew." 
This was Gideon's second question. God by his 
miracle answered it in the affirmative. " God did 
so that night; for it was dry upon the fleece only, 
and there was dew on all the ground " (Judges 
6:36-40). 

This transaction is proof: 1. That God makes 
his miracle to be his testimony, and approves its use 
as such. 2. That the evidence of God by his mir- 
acle is found in the predesignated purpose or propo- 
sition it is wrought to prove or to authenticate. 
Compared with human evidence, a miracle may be 
likened to the answer, " Yes," given to an interro- 
gative proposition. All that is embraced in the 
proposition propounded as a leading or direct ques- 
tion is affirmed to its full extent and import if 
answered by a man by the monosyllable " Yes," or 
by Deity by miracle. 3. That a miracle as evidence 
is not interpreted by symbolism. Every factor in- 
volved in the first miracle with the fleece from which 



68 Miracle and Science 

symbolism might be deduced, was expressly and 
diametrically reversed in the second. Yet each 
miracle affirmed the same identical truth — the ver- 
ity of God's command to Gideon. Postponing ex- 
amination of other instances in the Old Testament 
for later examination, we notice here some 

NEW TESTAMENT INSTANCES 

Consider a date, a.d. 30; and the situation, the 
millions of men the seed of Abraham then existing ; 
and the problem, from the human viewpoint, of 
identifying one of all those millions as the Messiah, 
for he was to be made flesh and dwell among men, 
live and be tempted as we are, subject to hunger, 
thirst, be weary, and bear the common form of a 
man in his mission as he did. Superhuman and 
supernatural evidence was indispensable to identify 
him, for the faet was supernatural and superhuman. 

John the Baptist testifies that God made him a 
special, express revelation, accompanying a commis- 
sion to preach repentance, and " to baptize with 
water." The revelation was, that, in performing 
the commission, the Messiah should be made mani- 
fest to Israel : " He that sent me to baptize with 
water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou 
shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on 



Function of Miracle 69 

him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy 
Ghost" (John 1: 33) ; "I saw the Spirit descend- 
ing like a dove, and it abode upon him " (John 
1:32; Matt. 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22). This 
fulfilled the special revelation and identified Jesus 
as the Messiah. But this was to John the Baptist 
alone. John proclaimed the facts. The Baptist was 
cast into prison, whence he sent two of his disciples 
to ask Jesus if he was the Messiah. The question 
in effect instituted an " issue." Jesus so used the 
question. Whatever moved John to institute the 
inquiry, it was respected by Jesus, and gave the op- 
portunity to indubitably, publicly authenticate the 
revelation and identification of God that Jesus was 
the Messiah. Jesus did not answer, " Yes," to 
John's question, which to the world would have 
been only human testimony, but he gave evidence 
on the issue, namely, in that same hour 

" he cured many of diseases and plagues and evil 
spirits, and on many that were blind he bestowed 
sight. And he answered and said unto them 
[John's messengers], Go your way, and tell John 
what things ye have seen and heard; the blind re- 
ceive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are 
cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are 
raised up, the poor have good tidings preached 



70 Miracle and Science 

them. And blessed is he whosoever shall find none 
occasion of stumbling in me" (Luke 7:21-23). 
Those miracles, the testimony of God on the issue 
raised, were given expressly and expressly or- 
dained by God to be his testimony, and to be used 
as such, to authenticate and confirm the express 
revelation of God, and to identify Jesus as Messiah 
the Son of God. 

The purpose of the miracle of raising Lazarus 
from death, as authenticating evidence, is stated by 
the Master himself. Jesus (John 5:31) recognizes 
a fundamental law of evidence, that, although one 
cannot usually put his own declarations concerning 
himself in evidence in his own favor, yet in this mir- 
acle he uses a well-established exception. It is this : 
when an actor controlling his own proceedings, for 
instance, enters upon land, in order to enforce a 
right — say of forfeiture, foreclose a mortgage, de- 
fend a disseizin or the like, or in fine does any other 
act material to be understood and in itself not une- 
quivocal, but depending for its true significance 
upon the purpose and intent with which it is done, 
the actor's declarations made at the time, and in 
connection with the transaction, and expressive of 
its character, purpose, and intent, become an inte- 
gral part of the transaction and proper evidence of 



Function of Miracle 71 

its character. 1 The record shows that Jesus gave 
his testimony by miracle, in the case of Lazarus, in 
accordance with this rule. Before the miracle, Jesus 
said to his disciples regarding staying away from 
the sick man until after his death : " I am glad for 
your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye 
may believe " (John 11:15). In a figure of sleep 
and awakening, he (1) stated to his disciples that 
he would raise Lazarus from death (ver. 14, 23). 
Jesus also (2) stated to Martha that Lazarus 
should be raised alive. This prediction Jesus gave 
twice, and when the stone shutting the tomb had 
been removed, Jesus communed with God and said : 
" Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. I 
knew that thou hearest me always; but because of 
the people which stand by I said it, that they may 
believe that thou hast sent me" (John 11:41, 42). 
The purpose and intent of Jesus' two proclama- 
tions, and the miracle as the testimony of God to 
authenticate and identify Jesus as the Messiah and 
his mission, were thus particularly preannounced 
immediately before the miracle was wrought. Its 
performance was God's testimony, proving the fact 
proposed ; also it was divinely ordained to be used 
as such testimony. 

1 1 Greenleaf on Ev. sec. 108. 



72 Miracle and Science 

SUPREME INSTANCES 

The supreme illustrations of the doctrine that 
Deity has made his miracle to be his testimony to 
authenticate his revelation and communications to 
men may be said to be : 1. God's miracle in giving 
the law at Sinai ; 2. Christ's miracle in demonstrat- 
ing that in him inhered the transcendent power of 
resurrection. 

Jehovah antecedently made his revelations to 
Moses, that he (Jehovah) at a preappointed third 
day would in person, in fact, come down upon 
Mount Sinai, and meet the whole Hebrew nation. 
On that third day Jehovah came down on Mount 
Sinai, and " God spake all these words, saying, I 
am Jehovah thy God, who brought thee up out of 
the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 
Thou shalt have no other gods before me," contin- 
uing spoken words through the entire decalogue 
(Ex. 19, 20). Jehovah, personally present before 
the whole people, spoke in the first person all the 
words of the decalogue, with an audible voice, in 
such manner that the whole congregation could 
hear. The ten commandments, founded in the im- 
mutable nature of God, and in the permanent rela- 
tions of men on earth, were personally, audibly, and 
immediately communicated by Jehovah himself to 



Function of Miracle 73 

the whole people. The record is, that Jehovah re- 
garded this miracle of supreme importance, as au- 
thenticating that pregnant epitome of the whole 
law. For immediately after the miracle he put 
special emphasis upon it by commanding Moses: 
" Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, 
Ye have seen that I have talked with you from 
heaven," an injunction Moses obeyed again and 
again (Ex. 20:22; Deut. 4:36; 5:24, 26). 

When Martha, contemplating the death of Laza- 
rus, spoke to Jesus, voicing the common belief of 
the Jews that all the dead would " rise again in the 
resurrection at the last day," Jesus made the amaz- 
ing revelation : " I am the resurrection and the life ; 
he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet 
shall he live. And whosoever liveth [at the last 
day] and believeth in me shall never die." This 
was a special and express revelation of Deity, and 
could not otherwise be ascertained or known. It 
was supplemental to Jesus' revelation: 

" The hour cometh and now is, when the dead 
shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they 
that hear shall live. . . . Marvel not at this ; for the 
hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs shall 
hear his voice, and shall come forth, they that have 
done good, unto the resurrection of life, and they 



71 Miracle and Science 

thai have done 111, unto the resurrection of judg- 
ment " (John 5:25, Jil), K. V., especially vcr. 28 and 
/'!>) ; " I lay down my life that I may lake it again. 
. . . I have power to lay il down, and I have power 
to take it again " (John 10:17, 18). 

1 low could this express revelation be indubitably 
proved, authenticated, to men? Mere Christ's pro- 
cess of authentication brings into operation a some- 
what unusual yet clearly established method of 
proof, designated Antoptic or Real. It is: " Such 
evidence as is addressed directly to the sense of the 
| tribunal | court or jury without the intervention of 
witnesses." ' 'That is demonstrating the truth of 
the proposition in question by actually performing 
it before the tribunal.'- 1 1 ere actual demonstration 
by suffering actual extinction of life-- being dead, 
laid away in the tomb, and rising alive at a time 
previously designated would be autoptic evidence 
and proof of the truth of that revelation. |< SSU B 
proclaimed again and again that he should be killed, 
and ari8e from death on the third day thereafter. I le 
was crucified, dead and buried, and rose from death 
Oil the third day. The revelation, prophecy, and 

1 l (Hreciilcnf on lOv. h<>c. i:Jh, Kith Md. ; People v. Con 
Btiintiiie, ir>:; n. Y. 21. 

2 Aiiicm'Iciiii and IOiikHhIi ICneye. of Law (2d lOd.) p. 



Function of Miracle 75 

God's testimony by miracle combined in autoptic 
evidence by Jesus himself to authenticate and con- 
firm indubitably his special and express revelation, 
that inherent in himself was the power of resurrec- 
tion of all the dead, and that at the last day, at his 
command, all the dead shall hear his voice, and 
come forth to meet the consummation of earthly 
things. 

The miracles are constantly in evidence in the 
four Gospels, and show that God made them his 
testimony to authenticate Jesus and his mission, and 
constantly caused their use to prove those facts. 
The Apostle John at the end of his Gospel sums up 
the purpose of the miracles recorded by him : 

"And many other (o-^/teta) signs truly did Jesus 
in the presence of his disciples, which are not writ- 
ten in this book ; but these are written that ye might 
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God ; and 
that believing ye might have life through his name " 
(John 20:30, 31). 

THE MASTER'S TESTIMONY 

Jesus himself constantly insisted upon, and ex- 
pressly asserted, the doctrine. The Jews at one time 
said to him, " If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly." 
If Jesus had answered, " Yea," or by mere words 
of affirmation, his questioners would have received 



76 Miracle and Science 

it as merely the testimony of a man in his own 
favor. Hence Jesus answered : " The works that 
I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me " 
(John 10:24-26) ; " If I do not the works of my 
Father, believe me not. But if I do, though you be- 
lieve not me, believe the works " (John 10:37, 38) ; 
and (in John 14:11) Jesus appeals again to his mir- 
acles as evidence, " Believe me for the very works' 
sake." This appeal to his miracles, as a just answer 
to the question of the Jews as to his Messiahship, 
remitted their question back to their own honest 
judgment and national belief; for Nicodemus 
voiced the common belief of the Hebrews when he 
said to Jesus, " No man can do these miracles that 
thou doest, except God be with him " (John 3 :2 ; 
see also Acts 2:22). 

In the foregoing we have examined only a mea- 
ger selection from abundant instances of miracles 
that prove the doctrine announced. We do not pur- 
sue such examination further now, for that function 
of miracle will come into notice again, and again, 
in considering various questions growing out of the 
general subject, e.g. in the Exodus, and the inquiry 
whether miracle is integral and constituent in God's 
economy of grace and revelation. Regarded com- 



Function of Miracle 77 

prehensively, the record shows that, in probative 
force, every transaction embracing miracle in the 
record that has a bearing on the question affirms 
with undeviating unanimity — and especially every 
such transaction in the Exodus and others yet to be 
examined on this question affirm cogently and con- 
clusively — the proposition that God has made his 
miracle to be his objective evidence, and ordained 
it to be used as his testimony, to authenticate his 
special and express revelations to men as well as to 
authenticate his agents in his service. The record 
evidence clearly proves that doctrine. 

The transcendent value to men of that great 
truth so established by such objective evidence will 
also appear in examining the rationale of the au- 
thenticating function of miracle in God's economy 
of grace and revelation. 



CHAPTER IV 

MIRACLE AS OBJECTIVE EVIDENCE 
IN REVELATION 

"The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring the soul; 
the testimony of Jehovah is sure, making wise the sim- 
ple.*' Psalm 19 : 7. 

Section I 

MIRACLE AUTHENTICATING REVELATION 

The Bible records numerous instances of mira- 
cles wrought expressly to authenticate Divine reve- 
lations. We have already considered those of 
Abraham (Gen. 15:8) and of Gideon (Judges 6: 
36, 40). See also, among others, the case of Man- 
oah (Judges 13: 2-20), of Moses at the Bush (Ex. 
3), and of Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:1-11 and Isa. 
38). 

The case of Pharaoh, later to be examined, is es- 
pecially instructive, because we have in that trans- 
action express evidence that the Creator in dealing 
with man, created in his image and likeness, a ra- 
tional moral being, recognized that when a super- 
natural and superhuman message purporting to be 
a revelation of God to man should be communi- 



Miracle and Revelation 79 

cated to one man (Pharaoh) by another man 
(Moses), Pharaoh as such rational being would be, 
and was, entitled to have furnished to him appro- 
priate evidence to authenticate the verity of the 
revelation and message. Moses was therefore ex- 
pressly instructed that, when he communicated to 
Pharaoh God's revelation (that God commanded 
Pharaoh to emancipate the multitude of Hebrew 
slaves), and Pharaoh, as foreseen, should require 
supernatural and superhuman evidence to authenti- 
cate the Divine message, and should demand of 
Moses, " Show a miracle for you" (Ex. 7:9), for 
such authenticating evidence, Moses, in response, 
should not only perform the miracle of the rod 
changed to serpent, but should also do before Phar- 
aoh " all the wonders [miracles] which I have put 
in thy hand" (Ex. 4:21). 

But the supreme illustration is Christ as the per- 
fect revelation and revelator of God, his will, law, 
and dispensation of grace and truth. Revelation of 
God as the Father and Sovereign was a work of 
Jesus during his earthly ministry, and his miracles 
were daily in authentication of himself, his mission, 
and that revelation. Such authenticating function 
of miracle was also the faith of the Hebrew people. 
John records a special and significant instance illus- 



80 Miracle and Science 

trating this (John 2: 13-23). Jesus at the Pass- 
over cleansed the temple by force, using a scourge 
in driving out the defilers and the sheep and oxen, 
and he overthrew the tables of the money-changers. 
Understanding that Jesus assumed to act in the 
matter with the authority of a divine prophet, the 
Jews — evidently officials in charge of the temple 
— demanded of Jesus, " What miracle (a-rjpelov) 
showest thou, seeing thou doest these things ? " 
Foreshadowing their destruction of his body on 
Calvary, Jesus propounded the miracle of his res- 
urrection, as the future authenticating evidence 
asked for. But at the same feast Jesus gave pres- 
ent answer, for, as recorded, " Many believed on 
him when they saw the miracles he did " (ver. 23). 
These miracles satisfied his accusers, as it appears, 
for they acquiesced; did not arrest or condemn 
Jesus for his overt acts of force against the prop- 
erty and persons that had defiled the sanctuary. 

THE DOCTRINE RATIONAL 

The doctrine is in accord with sound reason. 
When what purports to be a revelation from God 
comes to man, and in purport imposes obligation on 
man affecting the alleged recipient or third persons, 
there inheres in the situation this inevitable ques- 



Miracle and Revelation 81 

tion, Is the purported revelation verity? Plainly 
God, as purported author, alone knows the truth 
responsive to that question. He who alone knows 
the truth is alone able to give true answer. 

What evidence is indispensably requisite to au- 
thenticate indubitably an alleged revelation of God 
to man? Obviously (1) it must be evidence which 
God alone can give ; ( 2 ) it must be evidence given 
by such way, means, and conditions that man, 
using his normal powers, can test it as to its reality, 
arid understand and apply it. 

(1) Power to perform a miracle is the sovereign 
prerogative of Deity ; possible to Deity alone. When 
man appears officially in performing a miracle, it is 
merely as agent of Deity. The power that operates 
emanates from Deity. So the Master testifies 
(Luke 6:19; Mark 5:30). Miracle as evidence, 
and miracle alone, satisfies fully the first indispen- 
sable requisite of evidence, viz. that which can 
indubitably prove a purported revelation of God to 
man to be verity. 

(2) As we have seen in examining the miracle of 
raising Lazarus from death, the things or matters 
that, as evidence, constitute and prove a transaction 
a miracle, and the manner of the production of the 
evidence, are readily and plainly capable of being 



82 Miracle and Science 

scrutinized as to their verity, tested and known by- 
ordinary normal powers of men. Hence miracle 
satisfies also the second, the other indispensable, re- 
quisite of evidence that shall indubitably prove a 
purported revelation of God to be verity. This 
simple yet adequate plan for surely authenticating 
to man's normal and rational apprehension super- 
natural and superhuman knowledge, God has graci- 
ously provided, ordained to be used, and used in fact 
in communicating his revelations of his will, truth, 
law, love, and economy of grace to men, and record 
thereof is preserved for us in God's word — his Tes- 
taments Old and New. God's miracle evidence not 
only satisfies all the indispensable requirements that 
inhere in the problem of so proving and authenti- 
cating revelations of God to man, but the record 
discloses no other plan or method, amenable to hu- 
man scrutiny and test, by which purported revela- 
tions of God to man can be authenticated; and we 
know of no other. No other has yet been promul- 
gated. 

This rationale of the function of miracle, by which 
God's special and express revelation to men 
throughout the Bible has been authenticated, is rec- 
ognized by theologians as basic, and used in setting 
forth the divine authority of the Bible. In his work 



Miracle and Revelation 83 

"The Divine Authority of the Bible," Professor 
Wright brings out the fact : " A miraculous dis- 
pensation begins with Abraham and ends with the 
apostles, — with an intermission of about four hun- 
dred years between Malachi and John the Baptist," 
and then shows, on good grounds, that all the books 
of the Bible received as canonical by Protestants 
were written during those periods of special mirac- 
ulous intervention, and that " outside of these books 
there is no trustworthy account of any special di- 
vine revelation." 1 

Reason without revelation has never, in the case 
of any historical community, availed to lead men to 
certainty in matters of religion, or to satisfy their 
needs, or rule their lives. 

Before leaving examination of this evidential 
function of miracle, we ought perhaps to notice 
opposing views, so far at least as they may come 
within the limitation we have set to our investiga- 
tion, i.e. as the subject is affected by rules, tests, 
and methods of jural science in the department of 
evidence as administered in courts of justice. These 
will be examined in the next section. 

1 G. Frederick Wright, The Divine Authority of the 
Bible, p. 15; see also A. A. Hodge, Outlines of Theologj 7 , 
pp. 59-61. 



84 Miracle and Science 

Section II 

UNSANCTIONED SUBJECTIVE CONCEPTIONS 
MISTAKEN FOR REVELATION 

There are many negators who, while insisting 
on their loyalty to the Christian religion, oppose the 
" conclusions " we have above stated. This loyalty 
is asserted on their contention that God is inter- 
ested to benefit human souls now the same as in past 
ages ; that men now attain or achieve divine inspir- 
ation and revelation the same every way as that 
which is set forth as inspiration and revelation in 
the Bible; that inspiration and revelation were 
never bestowed, from without, especially or ex- 
pressly, upon any, but that God is immanent among 
men and his creations, and through that immanence 
every one who is adequately attent will attain or 
achieve revelation. This concept is sometimes called 
" inner light," sometimes " ethico-religious con- 
sciousness." In philosophy, in modern times, the 
word is applied to the operation of a creator, con- 
ceived as in organic connection with every separate 
creation — herb, ox, or man — performing for each, 
alike, the functions of sustaining, upholding, con- 
tinuing. But what has been called " ethico-religious 
consciousness " or " inward light " by many of the 



Miracle and Revelation 85 

good and devout is limited, as so well stated by 
Professor Inge in his Bampton Lectures: 

" The inner light can only testify to spiritual 
truths. It always speaks in the present tense; it 
cannot guarantee any historical event, past or fu- 
ture. It cannot guarantee either the Gospel history 
or a future judgment. It can tell us Christ has 
risen, and he is alive forevermore, but not that he 
rose again the third day." 

The contention of these negators is sometimes 
stated thus: Any person having intellectual and 
moral qualities like Moses, by seeking and ponder- 
ing on phenomena, will, by his human spirit itself, 
achieve and attain special divine revelations the 
same as that zvhich guided Moses in the Exodus. 

SUBJECTIVE CONCEPTION OF REVELATION 

The inherent basis on which these contentions 
are made, seems to bring the matter directly into 
the realm of psychology, and demonstrates that the 
mental and spiritual processes by which they con- 
tend that alleged inspiration and revelations of God 
are so achieved, are subjective, ideal, as contrasted 
with what is objective, real. The results alleged to 
be obtained and promulgated are distinctly within 
the definition of " subjective," viz. " especially per- 
taining to or derived from one's own conscious- 



86 Miracle and Science 

ness." The contrast between " subjective " and 
" objective," by established usage, is stated by Sir 
William Hamilton: 

" ' Objective' means that which belongs to or pro- 
ceeds from the object known, and not from the 
individual knowing, and denotes what is real, in 
opposition to what is ideal; what exists in nature 
in contrast to [subjective] what exists merely in 
the thought of the individual." 

1. Obviously such contention, that man can, by 
brooding or pondering, achieve divine revelation, is 
distinctly and directly in conflict with the essential 
concept of a revelation of God, viz. " disclosure of 
truth which cannot be ascertained by natural means." 
While that conception of revelation of God stands, 
the contention that man can, by his brooding or 
pondering, achieve revelations of God, cannot stand 
a moment ; for achievements so contemplated would 
be achievement by human powers, which are nat- 
ural means, certainly not unnatural or supernatural. 

2. Such contention is also obviously in direct 
contradiction of the testimony in the record, of un- 
impeached witnesses, who knew by personal expe- 
rience the truth of what they testified. Peter, 
speaking expressly of inspiration and revelation, 
says of himself and his associate apostles: 



Miracle and Revelation 87 

" We did not follow cunningly devised fables, 
when we made known unto you the power and 
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eye- 
witnesses of his majesty. For he received from God 
the Father honour and glory, when there came such 
a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my 
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; and this 
voice we ourselves heard come out of heaven, when 
we were with him in the holy mount. And we have 
the word of prophecy made more sure ; whereunto 
ye do well that ye take heed .... knowing this first, 
that no prophecy of scripture is of private interpre- 
tation [setting forth]. For no prophecy ever came 
by the will of man ; but men spake from God, being 
moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Pet. 1:16-21, Rev. 
Ver.). 

3. The contention that such subjective processes 
yield verity in results in regard to religion and 
spiritual life is not only doubly contradicted (1) by 
the essential in revelation, and (2) by the record, 
but such subjective concepts are (3) what the 
record shows were contended for as verity by men 
professing to be loyal, godly teachers more than 
two thousand years ago. Such contentions were 
then condemned, and declared to be the result of 
self-deception of the very persons who promul- 
gated them ; not only condemned, but declared cal- 
culated to foster vanity and self-conceit. Of such 



88 Miracle and Science 

subjective results the record is, " Thus saith the 
Lord of Hosts .... they make you vain ; they speak 
a vision of their own hearts .... they are prophets 
of the deceit of their own hearts " (Jer. 23 :16, 26). 
4. It is common knowledge that such subjective 
concepts, although utterly destitute of truth, are yet 
capable of becoming imperative over the person by 
whom they have been evolved, even to the extent of 
impelling to the commission of capital crimes. One 
ancient and one modern example may be selected 
from many to illustrate this. 

UNAUTHENTICATED SUBJECTIVE CONCEPTIONS 

Moses. At the end of three hundred and ninety 
of the foretold four hundred years which should 
terminate Hebrew oppression by the Egyptians 
(Ex. 12:40, especially ver. 41), Moses was a ma- 
ture man forty years old ; had been wonderfully 
preserved from the death decreed by Pharaoh 
against every male Hebrew infant; been adopted 
by Pharaoh's daughter; highly educated, and, as 
shown by the oration of the martyr Stephen, " was 
mighty in words and in deeds " (Acts 7 :22). 

Moses stands in the front rank of the world's 
great and good men; but that did not safeguard 
him from the folly and falsity of the seductive 



Miracle and Revelation 89 

power of subjective conceptions of special revela- 
tions of God. Brooding over phenomena — God's 
great promises to Abraham, his own unique history, 
the near approach of time for deliverance of 
Abraham's seed from bondage — Moses evolved 
the subjective conception that the whole situation 
constituted special revelation that God had thereby 
called Moses to undertake, as he did, the delivery 
of the Hebrews; for, impelled by that conception, 
Moses slew the Egyptian (Ex. 2:12). Stephen's 
testimony shows this, for he says Moses " supposed 
his brethren understood that God by his [Moses] 
hand zvas giving them deliverance" (Acts 7:25, 
Am. Rev.). Moses could not honestly suppose that 
his brethren so understood, if he did not so believe 
it himself. Moses' act and belief received no sanc- 
tion whatever from God, and Moses thereby found 
Divine repudiation of his subjectively conceived 
revelation, and became himself a victim of that 
conviction evolved by " the deceit of his own heart " 
(Jer. 23:16, 36), and was forced to flee, a criminal 
homicide and an outlaw. 

The Man of Cohasset. The records of the Su- 
preme Judicial Court of the State of Massachusetts 
for Barnstable County show the prosecution of 
Charles F. Freeman for the crime of murder, com- 



90 Miracle and Science 

mitted May 1, 1879. On a preliminary hearing, 
Freeman was adjudged sane; but escaped convic- 
tion of murder, on final trial, on the ground that at 
the moment of killing he was not sane. Court and 
jury seem to have been convinced that, in what 
Freeman did with the life of his daughter, he was 
conscientious, sincere. He was condemned to be 
confined in Danvers Lunatic Hospital during his 
natural life. Freeman's case was widely published. 
As to what is here involved, the facts are under- 
stood to have been that Freeman (called the Man of 
Cohasset) had a little daughter whom he cherished. 
But he became dominated by a subjective concep- 
tion that it was his duty to prove his religious 
devotion by sacrificing what he most loved and 
cherished. His brooding centered on his daughter, 
and he took her life under the dominating influence 
of that subjective conviction. 

These two instances of the folly and crime of 
yielding to, and acting on, unsanctioned subjective 
conceptions of God and of his supposed revelations, 
are extreme samples. They shock us because of 
the cruel consequences wrought thereby on physical 
life. But evils as great or greater to spiritual lives 
of men, and evil to the cause of religion, are being 
wrought to-day by many in the ministry and edu- 



Miracle and Revelation 91 

cational work by promulgating mere subjective 
conceptions of God, his will, his work, purposes, 
and rule. It is common knowledge that such 
teachers, claiming an honest conscience in seeking 
to know God's will, boldly advocate their subjec- 
tive convictions, and deny the authority of the Bible 
and its recorded facts also, if deemed in conflict 
with their subjective conceptions. 

But do not the Scriptures exhort men to try to 
know God's will and conform their lives to it? Yes, 
doubtless, and great promises accompany the exhor- 
tation : " Ask, and ye shall receive ; seek, and ye 
shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you." 
While charity concedes and assumes that such vic- 
tims of such subjective conceptions of God, his will 
and rule, are honest in following the dictates of 
conscience, the assumption of honesty carries with 
it logically the correlative conclusion that, had such 
victims had in reality the light of truth as to the 
Divine mind and will to guide them, they would 
have followed that light and avoided error. How 
then can the honest inquirer be safeguarded in his 
quest of truth? Can loyalty to Christ secure him 
from error? 



92 Miracle and Science 

Section III 

CHRIST THE WAY AND GUIDE IN CONCEPTIONS OF 
THE DEITY AND OF DUTY 

How shall error in subjective conceptions be 
avoided ? 

. If in complying with the Master's many exhorta- 
tions to follow him we may employ, as he so often 
did, obvious truths of natural law to illustrate truth 
or principles in the spiritual sphere, in seeking 
an answer to the above question we may find 
lesson and light in the mariner's compass. The steel 
needle, ever so carefully suspended, while unmag- 
netized, is utterly useless for enabling the sailor to 
know the course his ship is moving. But when 
magnetized the needle thereby comes at once into 
organic relation, accord, and alinement with the in- 
terpolar magnetic current, which Almighty energy 
maintains in constant flow north and south between 
earth's magnetic poles. By that current the needle 
is held in that alinement. Because, and only be- 
cause, it is so held in that alinement, does the needle 
enable the navigator to know his course and guide 
his craft to the desired haven. 

Shortly before the crucifixion, at the feast of the 
tabernacles in the temple at Jerusalem, Christ 



Miracle and Revelation 93 

taught profound basic truths. It was an occasion 
at which Hebrew law required every male of the 
nation to be present. Jesus' teaching was to the 
whole people. The last of those great truths, then 
announced in the temple to the great assembly, was 
a proclamation no mere human being could assert 
of himself without blasphemy. It was a truth 
which Deity only could rightfully declare. Jesus 
proclaimed : "Iam the light of the world : he 

THAT FOLLOWETH ME, SHALL NOT WALK IN DARK- 
NESS, BUT SHALL HAVE THE LIGHT OF LIFE " (John 

8:12). The honest seeker after truth who would 
come within the benefit of that transcendent prom- 
ise and pledge, and avoid becoming the dupe of sub- 
jective conception, must as a disciple follow Christ 
in a spirit in accord with the comprehensive scope 
and purpose of the proclamation. The following 
must be of thought, spirit, and life shown not 
merely in obeying express precepts, but a following, 
as far and as fully as a human soul can follow, the 
example of Christ in everything affecting the soul 
in its relation to God and the Christian life. 

Complying with the condition of the promise re- 
quires the disciple to be in loyal accord and aline- 
ment with the spirit of Christ, as the magnetized 
needle is with the interpolar electric current ; so that 



94 Miracle and Science 

the Bible shall be to the disciple what it was to 
Christ. He must be in loyal accord with Christ in 
his announcement in his preface to the Sermon on 
the Mount, " Think not I am come to destroy the 
law or the prophets ; I am not come to destroy but 
to fulfil." He must be in loyal accord with Christ's 
teaching and works done in fulfilment of that older 
record ; and in like accord with Christ's prayer that 
his disciples might be one, even as Christ and the 
Father are one (a oneness of which we know noth- 
ing outside of what is recorded in the Testaments, 
Old and New) ; also he must be in accord with 
Christ's prayer that his disciples might be sancti- 
fied, and in accord also with the means and process 
of sanctification embraced in Christ's prayer to the 
Father : " Sanctify them through the truth : thy 
word is truth " ; and in accord, by righteous living, 
with sincere and devout desire to be thus sanctified 
in life and purpose through the word of God. 

Only as the follower is in alinement with and 
conforms to the conditions on which the promise is 
based, only by holding in check and testing one's 
thoughts and conceptions of God, his will and rule, 
by standards set in the Scriptures Christ thus au- 
thenticated, and exalted as supreme authority, can 
a disciple bring himself within the proclamation 



Miracle and Revelation 95 

and promise, and have that true illumination of 
spirit which Christ described as " the light of life," 
and only so be saved from the falsity and folly of 
unsanctioned subjective conceptions of Divine 
things, the conceit and deceit of one's own heart, 
described by Jeremiah (28:16, 26). In this funda- 
mental respect Moses and the Man of Cohasset sig- 
nally failed. They did not hold in check nor test 
their conception by the light of God's law, that ex- 
pressly condemns homicide, except in punishment 
adjudged against a malefactor. 



CHAPTER V 

MIRACLE AND DOCTRINE — DEITY 
OF JESUS 

" Jesus himself testified." John 4 :44. 

Not only have we evidence competent and suffi- 
cient to prove the reality of the miracles, but the 
miracle, so proved, becomes in turn evidentiary 
fact to prove the truth of the doctrines of the Chris- 
tian religion. We select first, for illustration, the 
doctrine with which the Apostle John opens his 
gospel narrative, viz. the Deity of Jesus, a central 
doctrine of the Christian religion. We are aware 
that theologians and divines of more than national 
fame have announced an opposite conclusion. 1 

1 George P. Fisher, D.D., in his work The Supernat- 
ural Origin of Christianity, p. 497, says : " It has been 
sometimes thought that the miracles of Christ were to 
prove His divinity. But this in our judgment is an 
error. The miracles of Christ do not differ in kind from 
those which are attributed to the Prophets of the Old 
Testament. By the Prophets the sick were healed and 
the dead revived. . . . The divinity of Jesus is a truth 
which rests upon His testimony and that of the apos- 
tles, and not upon the fact that He performed works 
exceeding human power" (citing, in support, Julius 
Muller, Essay on Miracles, chap. iii.). 



Miracle and Dgctrine — Deity of Jesus 97 

Speaking with deference to such authors, the rec- 
ord is before us, and examining it by the rules of 
evidence administered in courts of justice will show 
what it proves on the question. 

Luke (5:15, 17, 18) records that, upon healing a 
man of leprosy, Jesus charged him to tell no man, 
but Luke adds, " So much the more went abroad 
the report concerning him, and great multitudes 
came together to hear and be healed of their infirm- 
ities." On " one of those days " when great multi- 
tudes came together to hear, " a man that was pal- 
sied " (Am. Rev.) was healed. We propose to 
examine this transaction by the methods of science, 
to ascertain its lesson on the subject of the Divinity 
of Jesus. The transaction is in full harmony with 
the Bible as a whole. It is reported also by Mat- 
thew (9:2-8) and Mark (2:1-12). 

Time. It occurred, as is generally agreed, about 
one year after the first passover in Christ's minis- 
try, and after the first cleansing of the temple 
(John 2:13-25); after the imprisonment of John 
the Baptist (Matt. 4:12); after Jesus' discourse 
with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well (John 
4:4-12); after "leaving Nazareth, he came and 
dwelt at Capernaum" (Matt. 4:13); after Jesus 
went about all Galilee, teaching in their syna- 



98 Miracle and Science 

gogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, 
and healing all manner of diseases among the peo- 
ple; and after his fame went throughout all Syria; 
so that there followed him great multitudes of peo- 
ple from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from 
Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jor- 
dan (Matt. 4:23-25). 

Place. It seems that, after the fame of Jesus 
and his teachings caused such a following and 
celebrity as Luke records (Luke 5:15), great mul- 
titudes came together, to hear Jesus preach and 
teach; that a house at Capernaum was appro- 
priated for meetings, and was known as such by 
common report. Of such building or house, Mark 
records of this very day, and transactions we are to 
consider, that " it was noised that he [Jesus] was 
in the house" (Mark 2.-1) 1 and that the house 
was in Capernaum. Luke says of those meetings, 
evidently at that house, that it came to pass " on 
one of those days," " There were Pharisees and 
doctors of the law sitting by, who had come out of 
every village of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusa- 
lem " (Luke 5:17). Capernaum was in Galilee, 
the northern part of Palestine. Judaea was the 

1 See too Mark 7 :17 ; 9 :28, indicating the establish- 
ment of a fixed place of meeting and teaching. 



Miracle and Doctrine — Deity of Jesus 99 

southern part. So there was a representation of 
educated men, as Luke says, from " every village " 
in all Palestine. The record shows that it was a 
peculiarly comprehensive and representative gath- 
ering, including the educated, the cultured, as well 
as the common people. 

It was during the period of Christ's ministry des- 
ignated as the period of Public Favor, before the 
rulers and leaders had commenced their opposi- 
tion; a period in which the marvelous work and 
gospel of Jesus had notably arrested the attention 
of the Jewish people. The good, thoughtful, earn- 
est, and religious were evidently in a state of anx- 
ious inquiry as to Jesus himself and his gospel. 
The audience on that day was familiar with their 
Holy Scriptures, and evidently held them in rever- 
ence. 

JESUS' USE OF JURAL SCIENCE 

Moreover, it must be kept in mind that the Mas- 
ter knew perfectly well the intelligent, comprehen- 
sive character of that audience, and the importance, 
for his mission, that the truth in regard to himself 
as Deity, and his mission, should be truly and cer- 
tainly promulgated and known, then and there, as 
well as for all men in all time everywhere. Such 
knowledge and apprehension of the situation fur- 



100 Miracle and Science 

nishes an explanation and reason for the very un- 
usual practice the Master adopted, and the turn or 
deflection he gave to the incident when the palsied 
man was placed before him. It was a course 
adopted by the Master, as the evidence shows, in 
order to develop and create " the issue," and so se- 
cure opportunity to prove to the audience then, and 
to all men through them, the great truth the deity 
of Jesus the Christ. With that assembly filling the 
house, and the multitude thronging and barring 
the doorways, Jesus within the house having com- 
menced his discourse, or as Luke says " teaching," 
four friends of " a man that was palsied " brought 
him to be presented to Jesus to be healed. The 
dense crowd at all portals of the house prevented 
bringing the palsied man into the house by usual 
entrances. Therefore the four men took the pal- 
sied man to the roof of the house, and, removing 
some of the covering, " let him down through the 
tiles with his couch into the midst before Jesus" 
(Luke 5:19). 

This extraordinary, perhaps audacious, inter- 
ruption of the public meeting and discourse must 
be noticed, for it inevitably drew the immediate 
and intense attention of all. What was thus done 
gave the Master opportunity to improve the inci- 



Miracle and Doctrine — Deity of Jesus 101 

dent and situation by teaching lessons in innumera- 
ble ways. But all those various ways of improving 
the incident were in the hands and control, and 
available at the discretion, of the Master, to be 
adopted as he saw fit. The palsied man had been 
brought to Jesus to be healed. His four friends 
and the palsied man ardently desired that blessing. 
The audience knew that, and expected the healing. 
Jesus knew that also. In view of the usual practice 
of the Master in such cases, the natural thing, the 
ordinary thing, the expected thing, was that Jesus 
would lay his hand on the palsied man, or speak 
the fiat word, and heal him. Jesus did neither. He 
simply said, " Man, thy sins are forgiven," and let 
the sufferer lie on his couch, unhealed, sick, pal- 
sied. That was not what the palsied man sought, 
nor what his four friends had exercised such extra- 
ordinary effort to secure. Jesus left them and the 
audience disappointed. It must have excited the 
deepest interest, and drawn earnest attention of all 
present to what followed. 

The perfect goodness of Christ, and the doctrine 
to proving which he turned the transaction in the 
outcome, compel the conclusion that the Master 
purposely did not at first heal the palsied man, but 
said, " Thy sins are forgiven," for the purpose of 



102 Miracle and Science 

evolving the " issue," and leading the thoughts of 
those present to the great matter he intended then 
and there to prove for that audience, and through 
them for all men — his divinity. Christ's assertion 
later of his divinity, and power on earth to forgive 
sins, is proof that he exercised, and intended to be 
understood as exercising, the prerogative of Deity 
when he declared the palsied man's sins forgiven. 
Hence the learned doctors of the law, the scribes, 
and educated Pharisees were not wrong, not mis- 
taken even, in concluding that Jesus did claim to 
exercise, and meant to be understood as himself 
exercising, his own power when he announced the 
man's sins forgiven. Here the transaction halted. 

BLASPHEMY CHARGED AGAINST JESUS 

After sufficient time had elapsed for the strange 
and unexpected turn the Master had given to the 
transaction and its significance to take shape in the 
thoughts of those present familiar with the law 
of their Scriptures, their thoughts became: Here 
is blasphemy. This Jesus, a mere man, is guilty 
of blasphemy. " Who can forgive sins, but God 
alone? " That this objection was candid, not merely 
captious, is indicated by the fact that there was no 
reproof or reproach by the Master, but it was dealt 
with by him as a wise teacher would deal with 



Miracle and Doctrine — Deity of Jesus 103 

attentive, earnest students. Instead of reproach, 
Jesus referred to what they ' reasoned in their 
hearts/ That reasoning immediately and inevita- 
bly raised and involved " the issue," the deity of 
Jesus. As Jesus immediately dealt with the mat- 
ter on that exact issue " which he had purposely 
created, and did not attempt to turn the thought 
otherwise, we must conclude that that " issue " was 
exactly the outcome the Master intended should be 
raised, by saying he forgave the palsied man's sins 
at first, instead of curing his palsy. 

Although there are not in the record express 
formal or technical pleadings, the facts and lan- 
guage used, and the proceedings that took place, 
and the results involve the elements of a judicial 
proceeding. Examining the record by the rules of 
evidence, and terms of enlightened jurisprudence, 
enables us to see the evolution of the truth which 
the Master then and there established. The charge 
in the thought of the accusers of Jesus was blas- 
phemy, as in John 10 :33, where the Jews said to 
Jesus, they would stone him "for blasphemy; be- 
cause that thou, being a man, makest thyself God." 
The allegations of the objections constituting the 
charge of blasphemy are seen, when formulated, to 
be three: 1. That Jesus had publicly formally ar- 



104 Miracle and Science 

rogated to himself power to forgive a man's sins, 
and had averred the forgiveness was consum- 
mated; 2. That God alone could forgive sins; 
3. That Jesus was only a man, not Deity. Hence 
the legal conclusion that Jesus was guilty of the 
crime of blasphemy. Those three allegations of the 
accusers of Jesus, tendered, and the situation log- 
ically required that Jesus take issue or deny each of 
these allegations unless he would admit them to be 
true. By legal principles constituting rules of evi- 
dence, unless denied, each of these allegations, ju- 
dicially regarded, must as to that transaction stand 
admitted. 

The record shows that Jesus did not deny or 
controvert either the first or the second allegation. 
The result therefore admitted: 1. That Jesus had 
claimed and asserted that he had himself, exercis- 
ing his own power in very truth, forgiven the 
man's sins; 2. That God alone had power to for- 
give sins. But on the third allegation Jesus assert- 
ed indubitably, in effect, that he was Deity, and had 
in fact exercised on earth the prerogative of Deity. 
That condition presented legally and logically an 
actual issue between Jesus and his accusers. The 
proceeding was held in suspense until the " issue " 
was formed, made available. 



Miracle and Doctrine — Deity of Jesus 105 

THE " ISSUE " — DEITY OF JESUS 

The issue was distinct, viz. that Jesus was Deity ; 
a proposition denied by his accusers, affirmed by the 
Master. It was an issue of fact; hence, was an 
issue to be tried, proved or disproved, by evidence 
to be produced. The record shows the Master took 
upon himself the affirmative, i.e. insisted that he 
had power and right in himself to forgive sins. If 
that affirmative proposition should be proved, it 
would in its turn be the evidentiary fact that 
proved that Jesus, " the same yesterday, to-day, 
and forever," is Deity. All this inheres in what is 
set forth in the record. 

The Master himself describes the " issue " as a 
question of power. He says he will introduce con- 
clusive evidence, that which gives knowledge evi- 
dence, by which " ye may know that the Son of 
man hath power on earth to forgive sins." That 
" power " was the prerogative of Deity alone. Je- 
sus contrasts the " power " to forgive sins with the 
" power " to work miracles of healing. Miracle 
power and power to forgive sins are alike preroga- 
tives of Deity. Each being prerogative power 
which Deity exerts at will, each is equally easy. 
Jesus' question, therefore, " Which is easier," to 
execute the fiat Thy sins are forgiven, or to exe- 



106 Miracle and Science 

cute the fiat Arise healed, answers itself; namely, 
each fiat is the prerogative of Deity, and each easy 
alike. 

Jesus had already issued his fiat, and absolved 
the sins of the palsied man. That act of Deity, 
Jesus had in fact performed. But, as so well said 
by Dr. Taylor, 

" from the nature of the case, the forgiveness of 
sins is a divine act in the spiritual sphere, the 
reality of which cannot be tested by merely human 
observation. One may declare to another that his 
sins are pardoned, and no earthly investigation can 
determine whether he is speaking the truth, for the 
transaction is in a department beyond the possi- 
bility of human investigation. Forgiveness is the 
act of God on the conscience of the sinner, a spirit- 
ual exercise in a purely spiritual sphere." * 

In effect, Jesus said, ' You do not know that I 
have in very truth absolved the sins of the palsied 
man, and so do not know I have in fact performed 
what God alone can perform, and which demon- 
strates that I am Deity, because your human limi- 
tations are such that you cannot scrutinize, exam- 
ine, or test the evidence of the fact of forgiveness. 
I will now perform another prerogative of Deity, 
a miracle of instantaneous healing of the palsied 
1 Taylor, Miracles of our Saviour, p. 127. 



Miracle and Doctrine — Deity of Jesus 107 

man, by my fiat, an act which you can by your hu- 
man power scan, scrutinize, and know to be verity. 
You see the man evidently a neighbor to the dwell- 
ers in Capernaum, for, when healed, he took up the 
couch himself and went to his own house. You 
see this person, a helpless, palsied man; that is a 
fact you already know.' 

Further the Master's proposition was : ' In your 
presence I will issue over the palsied man my fiat, 
"Arise, and take up thy couch and go to thine 
house." These words you can hear and observe, 
and know I speak them when I do so. If, at my 
fiat, the palsied man immediately arises and de- 
monstrates he is cured, by himself taking up his 
couch and departing to his house, that too you can 
observe and know it as it occurs. If, therefore, 
these things occur, and you see, hear, and know 
them as facts by your human senses, open to your 
scrutiny and inspection, as they occur, you will 
know that I have in myself, and in your presence, 
exercised the prerogative of God. The paradox 
will be proved, namely, that I, a man living in your 
midst, born of a woman, am also Deity, God Incar- 
nate/ 

Therefore, having adequately stated to the au- 
dience the " issue " to be proved — in legal phrase, 



108 Miracle and Science 

opened the case to the tribunal for trial, and 
brought the very essence of the " issue " as to his 
power and authority as Deity clearly and plainly to 
the attention of the accusers and the whole audi- 
ence — Jesus addressed the palsied man, lying on 
his couch before Jesus in the midst of the assem- 
bly-, and issued his fiat, saying : "I say unto thee, 
Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine 
house." Notice the ego, I say. Instantly, in the 
presence of all, the palsied man " rose up before 
them, and took up that whereon he lay, and depart- 
ed to his own house, glorifying God." Jesus' fiat 
was in the first person. He did not act in the name 
of another. The proposition denied by his accus- 
ers but affirmed by Jesus (that Jesus had in himself 
the prerogatives of Deity and was Deity) was con- 
clusively proved by autoptic evidence ; viz. the ac- 
tual performance by Jesus of the prerogative of 
Deity in this miracle of instantaneous healing, 
wrought publicly by Jesus by his personal fiat for 
the express purpose of proving his divinity. This he 
did in the immediate presence, observation, and 
scrutiny of his accusers and the multitude which 
then constituted the tribunal, that they might then 
and there decide for themselves, as we must now for 
ourselves, upon the evidence. The evidence was by 



Miracle and Doctrine — Deity of Jesus 109 

miracle, the testimony of God, wrought by Jesus as 
himself Incarnate Deity, having inherent in himself 
the prerogatives of Deity, — power and authority as 
Deity to (1) perform miracles, and (2) forgive 
sins. The proof was like the proof of the truth of 
a mathematical problem, which is designated dem- 
onstration. 

THE VERDICT 

The tribunal, the audience, not excepting the 
doctors of the law or the learned, immediately 
pronounced their verdict. The result of the evi- 
dence and the verdict are found: "And they were 
all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled 
with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to- 
day " (Luke 5: 26). The effect of the evidence on 
the audience is described as threefold: 1. They 
were amazed; 2. They glorified God; 3. They 
were filled with fear. In the Greek it is " filled 
full," a plethora of fear. The mere miracle of 
healing does not account for the " amazement," 
nor for the extraordinary " fear " or " awe," for 
many such miracles had before been wrought by 
Jesus in that same city of Capernaum (Matt. 8: 2- 
4, 5, 16; Mark 1:21-26; Luke 4:31, 33, 38). 

The fame of former miracles wrought by Jesus 
at Capernaum had reached Nazareth; for, when 



110 Miracle and Science 

Jesus preached there, he said to the Nazarenes, 'You 
wish me to perform miracles, such as you learn I 
have wrought at Capernaum.' Something other 
and different from a miracle of healing is required 
to account for the amazement and awe that was 
produced by the transaction with the palsied man. 
When the situation and facts are duly considered, 
their awe and amazement are explained. Here, for 
the first time, our Master brings miracle into the 
field of view and action, to be employed as evidence, 
to prove specific fact — in this case, the specific fact 
of the deity of Jesus, i.e. to maintain " the issue " 
on that question, which issue the doctors of the law, 
scribes, and Pharisees had themselves caused by 
alleging the non-divinity of Jesus. When the issue 
they had thus participated in creating was proved 
against them, in their immediate presence, by the 
miracle, whose function as such proof on that issue 
Jesus had predeclared, and they realized that Deity, 
in the person of Jesus, stood in their midst, wield- 
ing omnipotent and prerogative powers of God, they 
were awe-struck, astounded. They confessed the 
reason of their awe and astonishment by the Greek 
word they used in their verdict, namely, " We have 
seen irapdho^a to-day." It should have been trans- 
literated paradox. In view of the transcendent im- 



Miracle and Doctrine — Deity of Jesus 111 

portance of the transaction, the translation we have 
in the common version, " We have seen strange 
things to-day," seems pitiably weak and unfortu- 
nate, quite missing the force and concept of the 
original. The verdict when truly translated* fur- 
nishes the cause and explanation of the amaze- 
ment, awe, and fear. 

Literally the verdict is : ' We have seen (irapd- 
8oi~a) paradox this day.' A paradox is something 
which apparently contradicts some ascertained 
truth, but which, when duly investigated, is found 
to be true ( Cent. Diet. ) . 

An apparent improbability is when verified 
the surest witness to the truth. 

The verdict in Mark, though not so full, is ex- 
traordinary. Literally, ' We have not at any time 
seen thus.' What transpired was something over, 
above, and beyond any former miracle; and that 
was what produced amazement, fear, awe, and is 
described as paradox. Jesus, a being in human 
flesh and blood, living and being with and among 
men; born of a woman; a human physical organi- 
zation; subject to hunger, weariness, joy, sorrow; 
requiring sleep when exhausted; and yet demon- 
strating, in the transaction, that he exercised the 
prerogative of God, power to forgive sin — Jesus, 



112 Miracle and Science 

at once man and God, God-man, was a paradox. 
The sense of God, holy, then and there in their 
midst in human form wielding prerogative power 
of God, created in the mind of devout Jews awe 
and amazement. It was a paradox. Jesus, appar- 
ently a mere man, had proved by evidence openly to 
men that he was Deity by performing the preroga- 
tives of Deity; (1) by his fiat forgiving sin, and 
(2) by his fiat healing a palsy. 

DEITY OF JESUS CONFIRMED 

Divine confirmation of the deity of Jesus, as 
shown by the record, seems worthy of note in this 
connection. If Jesus was not Deity, but merely 
man, he was clearly guilty of blasphemy in the 
above transaction, and incurred condemnation of 
God and punishment for the guilt, as in the case of 
Moses, who inferentially joined himself, as miracle- 
worker with God, by the pronoun " we," in draw- 
ing water from the rock at Meribah, for which blas- 
phemy God's judgment excluded Moses from the 
Promised Land. After nearly forty years of subse- 
quent faithful service, Moses, deeply repentant, 
prayed the punishment might be remitted, but In- 
finite Wisdom decided it could not be condoned. 
God gave answer to Moses' prayer : " Let it suffice 



Miracle and Doctrine — Deity of Jesus 113 

thee ; speak no more unto me of this matter " 
(Deut. 3:26), and strictly enforced the penalty. 
But Jesus claimed power personal to himself to 
raise the dead of all the ages at the last day (John 
5 :28, 29), to give eternal life to men (John 10 :28) ; 
he publicly persisted in making himself equal with 
God, until the people repeatedly charged him with 
blasphemy therefor (John 4:11 and 10:16); and 
claimed he exercised his personal supernatural 
power in forgiving sin and healing disease by his 
personal fiat in dealing with the palsied man at Ca- 
pernaum. Yet, in view of all this, God Omniscient, 
cognizant of all and contemplating the whole earth- 
ly course of Jesus, his claims, acts, and teachings, 
and speaking on the Mount of Transfiguration, pro- 
claimed of Jesus, " This is my beloved Son, in 
whom I am well pleased; hear ye him" (Matt. 
17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35; 2 Pet. 1:17). It 
was express confirmation, ratification, and approval 
of all Jesus had claimed, and done, and taught, — 
confirmation, ratification, and approval to men, by 
the Almighty, of the deity of Jesus. 



CHAPTER VI 
MIRACLE AND DOCTRINE— JEHOVAH 

" He left not himself without witness." Acts 14 : 17. 
" He established a testimony in Jacob. . . . His Signs 
in Egypt, and his Wonders in the field of Zoan." 

Psalm 7S. 

Section I 

SCOPE OF PROPOSED INQUIRY 

The miracles of the Exodus involve fundamental 
doctrines regarding Jehovah, which are denied by- 
three classes: (1) Atheists deny the existence of 
God. (2) Agnostics deny the possibility of know- 
ing God or of making proof of his existence. 1 (3) 
Skeptics, although Deists or Theists, on the alleged 
hardening of Pharaoh's heart, deny the righteous- 
ness of God. These are denials of the Word of 
God, and denials of God as he is disclosed in his 
Word — Old and New Testaments — which word 
and disclosure of God constitute the body of faith, 
" once for all " delivered to the saints, which Chris- 

1 "Agnosticism assumes a double incompetence — the 
incompetence not only of a man to know God but of God 
to make himself known. But the denial of competence 
is the negation of Deity, for the God who could not 
speak would not be rational, and the God who would not 
speak would not be moral." Principal Fairbairn, Place 
of Christ in Modern Theology, p. 386. 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 115 

tians believe, and which they are exhorted to con- 
tend for earnestly (Jude, ver. 3). Existence of 
God as fact is fundamental, necessarily primary, in 
theology and religion. Hence proof of the fact of 
the existence of God, evidence that establishes that 
proof, is correspondingly fundamental and impor- 
tant. No Christian life can commence or continue 
without genuine belief in God as living, existing in 
fact, and caring for his creatures : " He that Com- 
eth to God must believe that he is, and that he is 
a rewarder of them that diligently seek him " 
(Heb. 11: 6). But normal rational belief, in a hu- 
man soul, is produced by the power of evidence, 
and ought to be by evidence that the individual can 
test to know to be verity, and that he can under- 
stand and intelligently appropriate. 

It is common knowledge that professors and in- 
structors in theological schools teach that the ex- 
istence of God is established by a series of argu- 
ments designated " theistic proofs." 

As very briefly described by a theologian, these 
arguments " are derived from the necessity we are 
under of believing in the real existence of the in- 
finitely perfect Being," that grounds creating that 
condition are, namely, necessity (1) "of a suffi- 
cient cause of the contingent universe," (2) " of an 



116 Miracle and Science 

intelligent author of the order and manifold con- 
trivances observable in nature," and (3) "of a law- 
giver and judge for dependent moral beings, en- 
dowed with the sense of duty and an ineradicable 
feeling of responsibility, conscious of the moral 
contradictions of the world, and craving a solution 
of them and living under an intuitive perception of 
right which they do not see realized." x 

Treatises that develop the arguments called 
" theistic proofs " of the existence of God, based, 
as they are, on the " necessities " just described, 
are monuments of vast learning, ripe scholarship, 
profound reasoning, and are of corresponding 
value, prized and honored by Christians. But it is 
obvious that a real, conscious sense of the existence 
of God, thus deduced from a series of arguments 
thus wrought out by erudite learning, profound 
metaphysical reasoning, based on grounds of ne- 
cessity, can be apprehended by but a few compara- 
tively of the millions of the race. The mass of 
men have neither the time, the ability, scholarship, 
or training, for such original and radical investiga- 
tion of the question of the existence of God as are 
by such arguments and reasoning wrought out as 
" theistic proofs." 
1 B. B. Warfield, art. " God," Davis, Bible Diet. p. 252. 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 117 

Therefore if examination of God's Word by the 
rules, tests, and standards the science of jurispru- 
dence has instituted for evolving and establishing 
truth and fact from evidence shows that God has 
thereby provided proof of his existence and char- 
acter, by evidence simple, and such as the non- 
erudite man can readily comprehend; then such 
proof of God's existence and character ought to 
have our reverent respect, and be given its high 
place of honor in religion, literature, and the coun- 
sels of men. 

In view of these denials of atheists, agnostics, 
and skeptics, the question may be asked, Is there 
evidence available to men to-day, evidence ever 
given to men, evidence which ordinary men, using 
normal human powers, could scrutinize, test, un- 
derstand, and know to be verity, which then and 
which now, when tested by rules and standards of 
jural science, proves the existence of God? The 
inquiry may be more specific. Has the existence 
of God been proved as a fact, substantially as facts 
are proven in administering jurisprudence in courts 
of justice? 

The denials of those three classes of oppugners 
of the Word of God raise issues of fact which seem 
proper to be subjected to trial and determination 



118 Miracle and Science 

by evidence, examined by the rules and standards 
of jural science and correct reasoning. We pro- 
pose such examination. For that purpose we have 
before us the several Pentateuchal as well as other 
books of the Bible, each of which is an Ancient 
Document. Their competency as evidence has 
been stated in a former chapter. Some preliminary 
matters first need consideration. 

We are to consider not only the proof of the ex- 
istence and supremacy of God, but also the alleged 
unrighteousness of Jehovah in dealing with Phar- 
aoh. When the moral quality of the act of an in- 
telligent being is impugned, jurisprudence requires 
that the time, situation, and conditions affecting 
the question involved, and also the purposes of the 
actor, be ascertained and clearly understood, be- 
fore condemning the act. Unrighteousness is pre- 
eminently a matter of religion, which, as generally 
apprehended, is defined, " Recognition and alle- 
giance in manner of life to a superhuman power or 
superhuman powers, to whom allegiance and ser- 
vice are regarded as justly due" (Cent. Diet.). 

STATE OF RELIGION — EXODUS ERA 

The record shows that, from a period shortly 
after the dispersion at Babel, the race of mankind 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 119 

apostatized, and forgot God. Instead of recogniz- 
ing Jehovah, " the only true God," and observing 
allegiance to him, the whole world was full of con- 
ceptions of Deity, utterly false, manufactured by 
men. Those conceptions of Deity were not only 
false in origin, but false in purpose, because, being 
in fact mere figments of the imagination of men, 
they were palmed off upon the world, and accepted 
by the race as real, as true. In their conceptions 
such gods were only human, with unbridled lust, 
lying and selfish passions, destitute of purity, holi- 
ness, or righteousness. Every nation and every 
tribe had its separate god or gods, supposed to 
have supernatural and superhuman power to oper- 
ate through the air, the elements, through animals, 
insects, diseases, and innumerable agencies, to help 
promote, injure, or destroy men. National gods 
were each deemed a rival of gods of other nations 
or peoples. 

The situation furnished a good illustration of 
natural evolution. A concrete case may best illus- 
trate the then prevalent conception of gods. Syria 
remained unreformed in this respect in the time of 
Hezekiah. Rab-shakeh, Sennacherib's captain, de- 
manding the capitulation of Jerusalem, shouted to 
the people: 



120 Miracle and Science 

" Hearken not to Hezekiah, when he persuadeth 
you, saying, Jehovah will deliver us. Hath any of 
the gods of the nations ever delivered his land out 
of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are 
the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad? where are 
the gods of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah? have 
they delivered Samaria out of my hand ? Who 
are they among all the gods of the countries, that 
have delivered their country out of my hand, that 
Jehovah should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand ?" 
(2 Kings 18: 32-35, Am. Rev.). 

The king of Assyria had theretofore conquered 
Samaria and the Kingdom of Israel, removed the 
Israelites to Assyria, and colonized the conquered 
country, including Samaria, with men from Baby- 
lon, from Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and Sepharvaim. 
The colonists suffered from a plague of lions, 
which was attributed to the failure of the colonists 
to fear the god of Israel. So the Assyrian mon- 
arch caused one of the Hebrew priests who had 
been carried away, to be returned to Samaria, who, 
it is said, taught the colonists how they should fear 
Jehovah (2 Kings 17:28). The Scripture is: 

" Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, 
and put them in the houses of the high places 
which the Samaritans had made, every nation in 
their cities wherein they dwelt. And the men of 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 121 

Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of 
Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made 
Ashima, and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak ; 
and the Sepharvites burnt their children in the fire 
to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of 
Sepharvaim. So ... . they feared Jehovah, and 
served their own gods, after the manner of the na- 
tions from among whom they had been carried 
away" (2 Kings 17:29-33, Am. Rev.). 

We may not affirm the specific rise of such con- 
ceptions of gods, but we know that, from remote 
record up to the Christian era, and since even, 
whenever a wonderful, supernatural, and superhu- 
man transaction has been, or believed to have been, 
wrought, men have spontaneously concluded the 
actor was a god. If the actor was not known, still 
the phenomenon was attributed to a god ; as witness 
the altar Paul found at Athens inscribed to "an 
unknown God " (Acts 17 : 23). 

When Paul with Barnabas, as God's agents, acted 
in healing the impotent man at Lystra, the people 
spontaneously " lifted up their voice, saying in the 
speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us 
in the likeness of men," and proposed in very fact 
to offer sacrifice to them (Acts 14:11, 13). But, 
however originating, the conception of the gods thus 
set up was at best that of human beings of super- 



122 Miracle and Science 

natural power, with all human passions unbridled, 
with consequent vices, but destitute of purity, holi- 
ness, or righteousness. Men worshiping such gods 
grew like unto them, and corrupted their moral na- 
ture accordingly. This debasement spread until 
the race seemed again as described when destroyed 
by the flood: "All flesh had corrupted their way 
upon earth" (Gen. 6:12). 

Such was the conception of God or gods, and the 
consequent condition of religion, throughout the 
world at the Exodus. Pharaoh and the Egyptians 
must be contemplated, with the rest, as imbued and 
dominated by those false conceptions of Deity or 
deities. The record discloses that, to meet and 
overcome that corrupt and deplorable condition of 
mankind, convert and bring men back in life, love, 
and obedience to Jehovah, was the purpose of God 
in the new dispensation, initiated in the call of 
Abraham some four centuries before the Exodus. 
We call it the Christian dispensation. The record 
discloses great purposes in that dispensation, to be 
wrought out in the Exodus in view of these condi- 
tions; among them, (1) to establish a testimony to 
prove to men by objective evidence the existence 
and supremacy of God in all the earth, and cognate 
truths; (2) perform His covenant with Abraham to 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 123 

judge the nation that had for more than eighty 
years cruelly wronged Abraham's seed; and, (3) as 
incidental to that judgment, emancipate the He- 
brews as a step in promoting the Christian dispen- 
sation. These several objects cannot, without tedi- 
ous elaboration in considering the evidence, be 
kept entirely separate and distinct, because often 
items of evidence operate on more than one or on 
all the objects, nor can they be duly considered en- 
tirely unitedly. This may explain the medial 
course we propose, and we hope also will excuse, 
in a few instances, reexamination of any evidence 
found necessary in duly elucidating one or more ob- 
jects separately. 

As already indicated, the record shows that an 
avowed purpose of Jehovah in the Exodus was to 
prove to men, that he (Jehovah) exists and is su- 
preme, " the only true, God " ; that the Egyptian 
and world's conceptions of God were utterly false, 
and to prove those momentous facts by evidence 
just as any other matter of fact is proven to men, 
and to do this by evidence which men could exam- 
ine, scrutinize, and test by their normal human 
powers to be assured of its validity. The statement 
seems common, if not universal, heard from the 
pulpit and teachers, that the existence of God (Je- 



124 Miracle and Science 

hovah) cannot be proved. We are aware also that 
agnostic scholars and philosophers of fame have 
affirmed the same, and further that, even if God 
exists, we cannot prove or know the fact or know 
Jehovah. But, as shown by the record, those things 
were precisely what was proposed to be proved, 
and were proved, by Jehovah's evidence in the Ex- 
odus. The guaranty of Jehovah is : " Is anything 
too hard for Jehovah? " (Gen. 18: 14) ; and " The 
things which are impossible with men are possible 
with God" (Luke 18:27). 

Further purpose of Jehovah appears to have 
been that, in performing his promise to Abraham, 
that in his seed should all the nations of the earth 
be blessed, its accomplishment was to be not solely 
in the advent, work, and mission of Christ. Also, 
that Jehovah's purpose of securing blessings, 
through the seed of Abraham, to all nations, 
should include men and women of that seed from 
Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and extending 
down through Joshua and the rest to Malachi; 
that by and through them Jehovah would commu- 
nicate truth, revealing himself, his will, plans, and 
purposes, in the administration of his kingdom in 
this and the future life; also, that those persons 
should record such communication in writing, so 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 125 

that the whale should be preserved, "A lamp to the 
feet, and a light to the path," for all men for all 
times ; and that the whole should constitute a body 
of truth from God, that could be described by the 
Master as the " Word of God " as he did in his 
aforesaid prayer for his disciples, " Father, sanc- 
tify them through thy truth ; thy word is truth " 
(John 17:17). 

Further, and momentous in that record, Jehovah 
proposed that the evidence by which he should es- 
tablish his existence and supremacy should be 
reduced to writing, and preserved in that record 
forever for men, " in all the earth," even as it was 
done by Jehovah's recording prophet Moses, who 
participated in the production of that evidence, 
throughout not only the Exodus from Egypt, but 
all through the forty years, until the hosts of Israel 
were encamped on the plains of Moab in sight of 
Canaan. Also that Jehovah purposed in the Exo- 
dus, that the nation that should be born should fur- 
nish a national organization, a country and dwell- 
ing-place wherein his prophets and teachers might 
be raised up of the seed of Abram to be so inspired 
and endowed, and so work in promoting that new 
dispensation. In line with and emphasizing those 
purposes of Jehovah, and others expressly declared, 



126 Miracle and Science 

was his prophecy and pledge, "Against all the gods 
of Egypt I will execute judgment" (Ex. 12: 12). 

Section II 

DEITY — ATTRIBUTES PROVED 

The record shows that Jehovah announced ex- 
pressly, repeatedly, again and again, that he would 
testify and give such evidence of himself and his 
existence, supremacy, and character, that men 
should thereby not only believe, but realize and 
know, that he existed and was supreme. Jehovah 
also repeatedly announced his purpose, that the evi- 
dence and proof of his existence and supremacy 
should be so given and presented that it should 
be secured for " sons and son's sons," for future 
ages published and declared throughout the 
whole earth. All this, as the record shows, Jeho- 
vah proposed to accomplish, so to speak, juridi- 
cally, by employing the methods and procedure of 
jurisprudence, by miracle evidence; for those great 
purposes were to be accomplished by convincing 
Pharaoh and the Egyptians by that evidence that 
Jehovah existed and was supreme, and so secure 
their consent to obey him. The plan was unique. 
It seems to have been nothing less than conquering 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 127 

a haughty king and stubborn people by convincing 
them against their will, by the cogent power of 
evidence. 

Of the issue between Jehovah and Pharaoh, the 
particular question of the supremacy of Jehovah 
over the gods of Egypt was first made prominent 
and brought to trial. We will examine the record 
in that order, although existence of Jehovah is in- 
evitably involved also. 

We have seen the spontaneous consensus of men 
to attribute a wonderful, supernatural, and super- 
human transaction to Deity. The record shows 
that the correlative of this is also true, viz. that, 
for a message purporting to come from Deity, 
there may reasonably be required by men, as ob- 
jective evidence, a miracle to authenticate the mes- 
sage. This was recognized by Jehovah as just. He 
anticipated that would be required by Pharaoh. 
Hence he instructed Moses, as already noted, that 
when he communicated Jehovah's command to 
Pharaoh to free the Hebrews, and Pharaoh should 
demand " Show a miracle for you" (Ex. 7:9), to 
authenticate the message and messengers, that 
Moses and Aaron should perform not only the mir- 
acle changing the rod to a serpent, but all the mir- 
acle power Jehovah had intrusted them to call into 



128 Miracle and Science 

operation : " When thou goest back to Egypt, see 
that thou do before Pharaoh all the wonders which 
I have put in thy hand " (Ex. 4: 21). Thereupon 
Moses and Aaron appeared before Pharaoh, the 
sovereign of a great nation of, as it appears, 7,000,- 
000 or more people, of an empire 500,000 miles in 
area — a nation advanced in civilization, arts, and 
science — holding 3,000,000 Hebrews as slaves. 
Moses as Jehovah's commissioner communicated 
his command to Pharaoh, that he let the Hebrew 
slaves go. Considered juridically, Jehovah was 
prosecutor in a contest planned and prescribed by 
Jehovah himself, with Pharaoh defendant in a con- 
test to be determined by evidence and its convincing 
power. 

The claim and demand of Jehovah, as Deity, 
Sovereign and Supreme, against Pharaoh was, 
" Let Israel go." Emancipate them. Pharaoh, as 
defendant, made answer to that claim and demand. 
His answer was, " Who is Jehovah, that I should 
hearken to his voice to let Israel go? I know not 
Jehovah, and moreover I will not let Israel go " 
(Ex. 5:2, Am. Rev.). In the language of jurispru- 
dence, this on Pharaoh's part was pleading " the 
general issue " ; that is, considered juridically, it 
constituted a denial that Jehovah existed, and de- 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 129 

nial of any right in Jehovah, if he did exist, to com- 
mand Pharaoh to let his slaves go. 

We must contemplate the matter from Pharaoh's 
viewpoint. That was, that every nation and tribe 
had its own separate god, and that the god of the 
Hebrews, if they had one, was the god of Pha- 
raoh's slaves. Pharaoh denied Jehovah's existence, 
and refused Jehovah's demand. Pharaoh having 
denied the existence of Jehovah and his alleged 
right, the application of the rule of jurisprudence 
to the situation shows a clear " issue " raised as to 
the existence and supremacy of Jehovah — an issue 
proper to be tried and determined by evidence. 
That trial required, as the first step, that the mov- 
ing party (Jehovah demanding freedom for the 
Hebrews) should produce evidence to prove the is- 
sue on his part, that is, evidence to prove that he 
existed, — was • Jehovah God, Supreme and Sov- 
ereign " in all the earth," — and rightfully required 
obedience to his command. That was an issue 
involving supernatural and superhuman facts, to be 
determined and proved or disproved accordingly by 
evidence of the supernatural and superhuman. 

Further, although Pharaoh's contention did not 
in literal words demand, " Show a miracle for you," 
it did so in effect and by the rules and principles of 



130 Miracle and Science 

jurisprudence; for Pharaoh's answer, in legal par- 
lance, put the opposite party, Jehovah, to his proof, 
viz. that he existed and was supreme. That called 
for evidence to prove the supernatural and super- 
human, and consequently called for miracle evi- 
dence to determine it ; miracle evidence by Jehovah 
to -maintain his claim, and permitting miracle evi- 
dence by Pharaoh, if any existed, to oppose Jeho- 
vah's claim. Therefore later, as commanded, 
Moses and Aaron appeared "before Pharaoh and 
before his servants" (officials of the empire), and 
gave evidence to maintain Jehovah's demand. 
Aaron cast down his rod and " it became a ser- 
pent " (Ex. 7:10). This was a wonderful and su- 
pernatural and superhuman transaction, a miracle, 
the testimony of Jehovah. It sustained " the issue " 
on the part of Jehovah. It met the contention 
of Pharaoh's answer and proved the issue against 
Pharaoh, if the matter stopped there. But, jurid- 
ically considered, when that evidence was intro- 
duced, two courses were open for Pharaoh, the 
defendant. He might (1) accept the proof, make 
no defense on his part, and confess judgment by 
emancipating the Hebrews; or (2) he might meet 
the miracle evidence Jehovah had given, by counter 
miracle evidence, if any such counter evidence was 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 131 

attainable, i.e. by calling on the gods of Egypt to 
perform supernatural and superhuman wonders, to 
controvert the supremacy of Jehovah, the (to Pha- 
raoh) god merely of the Hebrews. 

The record shows Pharaoh chose the second 
course. He called Jannes and Jambres, as Paul 
discloses, 1 as representing the god or gods of 
Egypt, to perform countervailing wonders. The 
Hebrew word in Exodus 7 : 11 for the persons Pha- 
raoh called to testify is Chartumim, and the lexicons 
give its English equivalent, first, as " scribe," and 
after that " magician." The same word is found in 
Genesis 41 : 8, 24, where Pharaoh called on the 
same class of persons to interpret his dream fore- 
shadowing the seven years of plenty succeeded by 
seven years of famine, where, in the American Re- 
vision, the Revisers give " sacred scribes " as the 
rendering (see margin). They were a class of per- 
sons claiming to have been, and believed by the na- 
tions to be, in relation with their gods, and repre- 
senting their gods, as (to them and their concep- 
tions) Moses and Aaron represented Jehovah as 
God of the Hebrews. Young's Concordance gives 
" scribe " as the primary English rendering of the 
word. Clearly the situation and " the issue " in 
x 2 Tim. 3:8; Davis, Bible Diet. p. 339. 



132 Miracle and Science 

contention between Jehovah and Pharaoh justify 
and rationally require that Jannes and Jambres be 
deemed " sacred scribes," or men representing the 
gods of Egypt, and not merely men skilled in tricks 
of dexterity or legerdemain. 

SACRED SCRIBES 

We must contemplate the proceeding as Pha- 
raoh did, imbued and swayed as he was by the uni- 
versal conception of his age, of rival gods. We 
must also contemplate Jehovah's purpose to teach 
and convince Pharaoh and the Egyptians the utter 
falsity of their conception of gods. Therefore, 
whether we now assume or believe that what was 
done by Jannes and Jambres was in fact merely 
trick and legerdemain, or whether we assume or 
believe that Jehovah, as he did in the case of Job, 
and as Christ did with the spirits named Legion in 
the case of the possessed man and the swine at 
Gadara, permitted Satan or some demon to exercise 
to some extent wonders under restriction and con- 
trol of Deity, — on either assumption or belief, the 
transaction was brought forward by Pharaoh as 
his miracle evidence, produced on his part to meet 
and countervail the miracle evidence of Jehovah as, 
in Pharaoh's conception, simply the god of the He- 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 133 

brews, and to show Jehovah not superior to the 
gods of Egypt. Pharaoh was the sovereign of 
Egypt, and to Pharaoh the issue was an issue of 
contested miracle power between rival gods. The 
maxim of jurisprudence is, that when a transaction 
is as compatible with honesty as dishonesty, hon- 
esty is always preferred. 1 Hence conditions com- 
pel the conclusion that, in calling Jannes and Jam- 
bres, Pharaoh and his counselors acted candidly, 
and believed they were calling sacred scribes of the 
god or gods of Egypt, as Moses and Aaron were 
such scribes of the god of the Hebrews, and that 
the acts of Jannes and Jambres were not brought 
forward dishonestly by Pharaoh as mere tricks of 
dexterity to cheat and deceive the eyes of behold- 
ers. 

Other rules of jurisprudence support the same 
conclusion. These rules recognize and enforce 
grades of evidence, evidence of a higher and lower 
degree in character and value. An agreement re- 
duced to writing, signed, and sealed, is of a higher 
grade than oral testimony. For that reason, such 
sealed document cannot be disputed by oral testi- 
mony. Oral testimony is not competent to meet or 
deny such higher grade of evidence. So here miracle 
1 Chapman v. Mclllwrath, 77 Mo. 38, 44. 



134 Miracle and Science 

evidence could be met only by what was believed to 
be produced as miracle evidence. The dignity of Pha- 
raoh's office and the dignity and seriousness of the 
issue of supremacy, as Pharaoh and his people un- 
derstood it between the god of the Hebrews and the 
gods of Egypt, as Jehovah had himself planned the 
issue, requires us to conclude that the evidence 
Pharaoh produced was produced as being in his 
conception, and the conception of his people, evi- 
dence given by the gods of Egypt. It was plainly 
a principal purpose of Jehovah in the Exodus to 
refute and prove the falsity of that conception. It 
is only as Pharaoh and the Egyptians deemed Jan- 
nes and Jambres' acts wonders wrought by gods of 
Egypt that the false conceptions of king and peo- 
ple could be affected. Hence, when the rods of 
Jannes and Jambres, cast down, assumed the same 
appearance of serpents that Aaron's rod did, Je- 
hovah's case, considered juridically, was appar- 
ently met and countervailed by the evidence pro- 
duced by Pharaoh. Hence, if the trial had stopped 
there, the claim of superiority of Jehovah over the 
gods of Egypt would be held to have failed. The 
preponderance of evidence that the rule on that 
subject requires would be lacking. 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 135 

JUDGMENTS EXECUTED AGAINST THE GODS OF 
EGYPT 

But, by the rules of jurisprudence, Jehovah, as 
prosecutor or moving party, had the right to pro- 
duce evidence to rebut that produced by Pharaoh. 
That was done by the new miracle of Jehovah, 
when Aaron's rod swallowed up the rods of Jannes 
and Jambres (Ex. 7:12). So here, at the begin- 
ning of the trial of the existence and supremacy of 
Jehovah, he " executed judgment against the gods 
of Egypt." 

Following this were the miracles of Jehovah 
changing waters of Egypt to blood and bringing a 
plague of frogs upon Egypt. Again, like results 
at Pharaoh's order were at least apparently 
wrought by Jannes and Jambres. What Jannes 
and Jambres did was put forward as wrought by 
the god or gods of Egypt to meet and confute the 
evidence of Jehovah. Here again, by the rational 
rule of jurisprudence, unless met by rebutting evi- 
dence of Jehovah, holding the affirmative of the is- 
sue, the case of Jehovah would fail. 

When Pharaoh could get no relief from the 
plague of frogs from the gods of Egypt, he called 
Moses and Aaron, and besought them to entreat 
Jehovah to remove the plague of frogs. Moses in 



136 Miracle and Science 

reply took a step which made the next miracle of 
Jehovah to be express evidence of supremacy and 
also of his existence. For Moses proposed to 
Pharaoh that he fix a definite time at which Jeho- 
vah by his miracle should remove the plague of 
frogs. Pharaoh named " to-morrow." Moses' re- 
ply was, "Be it according to thy word: that thou 
mayest know that there is none like unto Jehovah " 
(Ex. 8:10). On Moses' prayer "Jehovah did ac- 
cording to the word of Moses," and removed the 
plague (Ex. 8:13). Here again Jehovah "exe- 
cuted judgment against the gods of Egypt." But 
when Pharaoh saw there was respite, he hardened 
(strengthened) his heart and refused to let Israel 
go (Ex. 8:15). 

Thereupon Jehovah wrought the miracle of a 
plague of lice upon men and beasts of Egypt. 
Pharaoh attempted to meet this miracle evidence, 
by like evidence by the gods of Egypt, but such 
evidence could not be obtained. Jannes and Jam- 
bres, believed by Pharaoh to be servants of the 
gods of Egypt, confessed that such evidence could 
not be produced, and expressly acknowledged, 
"This is the finger of God" (Ex. 8:19). Here 
again Jehovah " executed judgment against the 
gods of Egypt." 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 137 

All the miracles wrought upon the Egyptians by 
Jehovah at the Exodus in effect constituted judg- 
ments executed against the gods of Egypt. But we 
notice one more that is express, the miracle of 
boils. It caused Pharaoh to call again on the gods 
of Egypt to protect Egyptians against Jehovah's 
" miracle of boils " ; but the record is, " The magic- 
ians [sacred scribes] could not stand before Moses, 
because of the boils ; for the boils were upon the " 
men representing the Egyptian gods (Ex. 9: 11) ; 
and here again Jehovah " executed judgment 
against the gods of Egypt." 

It is recorded that Jethro visited Moses his son- 
in-law after the emancipation of the Hebrews. 
Moses recounted to Jethro all that Jehovah had 
done in the miracles in Egypt. Jethro's verdict on 
that evidence was : 

" Blessed be Jehovah, who hath delivered you 
out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the 
hand of Pharaoh ; who hath delivered the people 
from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I 
know that Jehovah is greater than all gods ; yea, in 
the thing wherein they dealt proudly against them." 

Jehovah executed judgment against " all gods " as 
gods of nations and peoples as nations and peoples 
conceived such gods at that time. 



138 Miracle and Science 

Section III 

EXISTENCE OF GOD 

The contention of agnostics is that the existence 
of God cannot be proved by evidence. But that 
seems plainly what the record shows Jehovah pro- 
posed to do, and did do, by his miracle evidence at 
the Exodus, as already mentioned and shown indi- 
rectly. The " issue " Pharaoh made by his denial 
is stated ante (p. 128). We propose to examine the 
evidence on that issue, specifically, by the rules of 
jurisprudence. 

Proof of the existence of Jehovah began at the 
Burning Bush, the initial communication of God to 
Moses. That communication deserves careful and 
discriminating attention, because the record shows 
that Jehovah, then and there, with peculiar elabora- 
tion and detail, communicated a conception of him- 
self to Moses, so that Moses could thereafter truly 
represent Jehovah to men, especially in the Exodus, 
as he did as God's ambassador and spokesman, in 
giving Jehovah's words to Pharaoh and the Egyp- 
tians. Moses' memory of his fiasco, forty years be- 
fore, when he vainly tried to induce his brethren to 
believe he was then called by Jehovah to de- 
liver them, as heretofore noted, may have inspired 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 139 

the particular question by which Moses asked the 
name of God. God answered, " I am that I am," 
and directed Moses to say to the people, " I 
am hath sent me " (Ex. 3 : 14). 

The expression " I am/' in its plain, simple 
import, stands for the concept of " existence," — I 
am, I exist. The Hebrew word translated " I am " 
is 'ehyeh, identical in root derivation with yahve 
or Jehovah, — Jehovah meaning " the existing one." 
In essence and substance, as scholars announce, 
'ehyeh is, " He who in the absolute sense exists, and 
who manifests his existence." * Jehovah existing in 
fact is the essential content of the language. A mir- 
acle becomes proof of any fact or truth when it is 
wrought professedly to attest such fact or truth. 
Hence, to make a miracle such proof, the purpose 
for which it is wrought is predeclared, or predeter- 
mined, and such prestatement communicated to the 
persons to be affected by, or the tribunal to act on, 
the evidence. 

SPECIFIC PROOF 

Applying rules and principles of jurisprudence 
to the evidence, we find that the predeclared pur- 
pose in ten, at least, of the miracles wrought in 
Egypt, as announced by Jehovah himself in the first 
1 Davis, art. "Jehovah," Bible Diet. 



140 Miracle and Science 

person through Moses, was to prove his existence 
as fact — to men as facts are usually proved by 
evidence — and to prove that fact so that both 
Hebrews and Egyptians should be fully convinced, 
and in fact should know, that God exists, and that 
they should know him as Supreme, as Deity. To 
the Hebrews : Jehovah announced he would eman- 
cipate the Hebrews from Egyptian bondage by his 
miracles — " an outstretched arm, and with great 
judgments," whereby " ye shall know that I am 
Jehovah" (Ex. 6:6, 7). The miracles were 
wrought accordingly, the Hebrews emancipated, 
and God's existence was thereby proved as fact to 
the Hebrews. To Pharaoh and the Egyptians: 

1. The first miracle of the Exodus whose pur- 
pose and function as evidence was particularly pre- 
declared to be to prove to the Egyptians the 
existence of God, was that of changing the waters 
of Egypt to blood (Ex. 7: 17). Stating that trans- 
action with some fullness will suffice as to formal 
statements in the other instances. 

Embodying the conception of God as given to 
Moses at the Burning Bush, the function prede- 
clared to Pharaoh of that miracle turning water 
of Egypt to blood was, " In this thou shalt know 
that I am Jehovah " — 'ehyeh — this in connection 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 141 

with Jehovah's revelation of himself to Moses at 
the Burning Bush was : 'ehyeh " who in the abso- 
lute sense exists, and who manifests his existence 
and his character." The miracle was wrought ac- 
cording to its professed and declared purpose, and 
it established the truth it was professedly wrought 
to prove, namely, the existence of God, Jehovah. 

2. In connection with the second miracle proof 
of the existence of Jehovah, when the plague of 
frogs became a scourge, as already noted, and 
Pharaoh could get no relief from the gods of 
Egypt, he called for Moses and Aaron and said, 
" Entreat Jehovah, that he take away the frogs 
from me, and from my people; and I will let the 
people go" (Ex. 8:8). This prayer was com- 
plied with, and the new miracle, wrought in re- 
sponse, was added proof that Jehovah existed, and, 
as heretofore stated, proved the existence and 
supremacy of Jehovah as fact by autoptic evidence, 
i.e. evidence of Jehovah immediately without the 
intervention of witnesses (see p. 74). It was 
evidence which only God could give; and, being 
given pursuant to its predeclared purpose to prove 
existence of God to the immediate senses of the 
Egyptians, it proved Jehovah existed and was then 
and there acting in the matter. 



142 Miracle and Science 

3. The third miracle proof of the existence and 
supremacy of Jehovah was the plague of lice (Ex. 
8:16-19). Its function and force as evidence is 
stated in the verdict of Pharaoh's people, " This is 
the finger of God" (Ex. 8 : 16, 19), i. e. that the 
miracle was wrought by the hand of God, then and 
-there actually living and acting in the matter, and 
proved his existence and supremacy. 

4. The fourth miracle proof of God's existence 
was the plague of flies. To emphasize the proba- 
tive function of the miracle, as to both the existence 
of God and his supremacy, Jehovah predeclared 
not only the probative purpose of the miracle of 
swarms of flies, that roam freely in the aerial re- 
gions, but declared through Moses, " I will set 
apart in that day the land of Goshen, in which my 
people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there ; 
to the end thou mayest know that I am Jehovah in 
the midst of the earth." The miracle plague was 
wrought, flies afflicted all Egypt, excepting the land 
of Goshen, and proved the existence of Jehovah, 
the predeclared and professed purpose for which 
the miracle was wrought (Ex. 8:21, 22, 24). 

5. The fifth miracle was a like divided or dis- 
criminating miracle, proof of God's existence and 
supremacy, namely, disease, a murrain upon the 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 143 

beasts of Egypt, inflicted as predeclared. The mir- 
acle was wrought accordingly, and the cattle of 
Egypt died, "And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there 
was not so much as one of the cattle of the Israel- 
ites dead" (Ex. 9 : 2, 3, 6, 7). It established the 
fact which it was wrought to prove, the existence 
in fact of Jehovah. 

6. The sixth miracle evidence was predeclared 
disease, a boil breaking forth upon man and upon 
beast. It proved Jehovah's existence and superi- 
ority over the gods of Egypt as admitted by the 
Egyptians, for the sacred scribes, representing 
Egyptian gods, were helpless, could not stand before 
Moses because of the boils, for the boils were upon 
them (Ex. 9:8, 9, 11). 

7. The seventh miracle plague of hail and light- 
ning was made God's testimony by predeclaration 
that it should be wrought the next day for the pur- 
pose of proving Jehovah's existence and supremacy, 
"that thou [Pharaoh] mayest know there is none 
like me in all the earth " (Ex. 9 : 14). The miracle 
was again divided and did not harm the Israelites. 

Pharaoh could get no relief through the gods of 
Egypt, and again sent for Moses and Aaron, and 
confessed, " I have sinned this time : Jehovah is 
righteous, and I and my people are wicked. 



144 Miracle and Science 

Entreat Jehovah; for there hath been enough of 
these mighty thunderings [marg. " voice of God "] 
and hail; and I will let you go." Moses, as Jeho- 
vah's agent, said he would go out of the city, and 
then would petition Jehovah that the thunders 
should cease and there be no more hail, " that thou 
.[Pharaoh] mayest know that the earth is Jeho- 
vah's." The miracle was wrought accordingly and 
proved the proposition (Ex. 9 : 27-29, 33). 

8. The eighth miracle evidence was the plague 
of locusts. The gods of Egypt believed in by the 
Egyptians could give no deliverance. The evidence 
convinced Pharaoh of the fact that Jehovah ex- 
isted, and he confessed to Moses and Aaron, " I 
have sinned against Jehovah your God, and against 
you. Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin 
only this once, and entreat Jehovah your God, that 
he may take away from me this death only " (Ex. 
10:4, 16, 17, 18). This was done, and the new 
miracle evidence intensified the proof that Jehovah 
existed, and acted then and there. 

9. The ninth miracle evidence was the prede- 
clared plague of darkness, that was felt for three 
days in Egypt, " but all the children of Israel had 
light in their dwellings" (Ex. 10:21-23). It 
proved Jehovah existing and acting. 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 145 

summary — jehovah's existence proved 
All through these instances of miracle evidence, 
the personality as well as the existence of Jehovah 
is constantly in proof. Jehovah exists, and is acting 
in every miracle. Jehovah constantly speaks in 
the first person and in present time, in predeclaring 
the miracle and its function and purpose, i. e. as 
his testimony to prove his existence and his su- 
premacy. The miracles were wrought according 
to the prediction, and professedly to prove the 
transcendent truths the existence of God and the 
supremacy of God. 

The factum probans, or evidentiary facts, consti- 
tuting the miracle in each case to establish the 
factum probandum, or fact to be established or 
proved — the existence of Jehovah and his suprem- 
acy — were simple. Each evidentiary fact or item of 
evidence was easily understood, entirely amenable 
to scrutiny and tests by normal powers of ordinary 
men, whereby they might be assured of the verity 
of the evidence. The record shows no dealing with 
Pharaoh's heart until after the harmless miracle of 
changing the rod to a serpent and his rejection of 
that proof. As the predeclared miracles of Jehovah 
succeeded each other, the Egyptians knew the fact 
— knew the waters of their river were changed to 



146 Miracle and Science 

blood, for they could not drink it — the fish died 
and the river stank — the frogs swarmed into their 
bed-chambers, into their ovens and kneading- 
troughs ; they knew the flies corrupted their land ; 
they knew lice, boils and blains were, as foretold, 
inflicted upon their sacred scribes; they knew 
murrain destroyed their cattle, hail destroyed 
their crops, and locusts devoured them, and men 
remained each in his place three days of darkness 
that was realized with horror. The people knew 
those predeclared facts, which were personally 
addressed to their immediate physical senses and 
apprehension. When the plague of locusts was 
predicted the people said to Pharaoh, " Let the men 
go ... . knowest thou not yet that Egypt is de- 
stroyed ?" (Ex. 10:7). 

The testimony of God's miracles was pressed 
and inflicted on the attention of Pharaoh and the 
Egyptians until they could neither disregard it, 
obviate it, or flee from it, or in any way escape from 
its presence, its persistence, its meaning, or its con- 
vincing potency. Against their will, against their 
pride, and against what they deemed their pecuni- 
ary interest, the evidence of God by the miracles 
compelled attention and produced conviction in 
Pharaoh and the whole nation, and compelled them 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 147 

not only to believe, but, as Jehovah over and over 
again declared they should, they were made to 
know Jehovah existed — was acting and was su- 
preme. They confessed it in express words, and 
indisputably by their deeds, in surrendering the 
enormous wealth of that age of services of 
3,000,000 slaves, after an additional miracle, to be 
examined in another connection. 

The existence and supremacy of Jehovah were 
indubitably proved as facts by that evidence, as 
Moses said later in a great oration, " Our enemies 
themselves being judges" (Deut. 32:31). 

Section IV 

PERPETUATING EVIDENCE 

Another rule and principle of jurisprudence 
should be noticed in connection with the evident 
purpose of Jehovah in the miracle evidence he gave 
of his existence and supremacy at the Exodus. It 
is this : When any fact or truth may be proved by 
evidence, and may or will affect persons or people 
in the future (persons or people it may be not yet 
born), jural science provides that, on public notice 
being given, the evidence may be produced, put in 
written form, denominated deposition, and then 



148 Miracle and Science 

committed to proper custody to be evidence of 
those facts or truths forever thereafter, whenever 
any person or people may be interested in or affect- 
ed by that evidence. In human affairs it is called 
" perpetuating testimony." 1 

Here, in giving the miracle evidence we, have 
been examining, public notice that God's testimony 
by the miracles would be given was served with 
earnest warning and given to a whole nation as the 
evidence progressed — given in such terms and 
effect that it could not be ignored — given at the 
seat of government of the nation, at the palace of 
Pharaoh, to king and to counselors on whom 
rested the official duty to prevent error or aught of 
anything that was wrong in the evidence. In each 
instance the evidence was given as notified. 

Thereupon God's agent and prophet Moses, as 
required by Jehovah, reduced the evidence to writ- 
ing as part of the word of God. The preservation 
of facts and evidence by writing which pervades 
the Pentateuch from the fundamental law on tables 
of stone " written by the finger of God," to the itin- 
erary of their journey from Egypt which " Moses 
wrote .... by the command of God," carries con- 
viction that God's command to Moses to preserve 
1 S Blackstone, Com. 450. 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 149 

for " sons and son's sons " — future generations — 
the evidence of the miracles God wrought' in the 
Exodus required Moses to do so in writing in a 
book or scroll as God expressly commanded Moses 
in regard to that relatively unimportant matter of 
Amalek, " Write this for a memorial in a book," 
or "the book" (Ex. 17:14, Am. Rev. marg.). 
Speaking reverently, but juridically, that evidence 
of the existence of Jehovah was the deposition of 
Jehovah himself, proving then and proving now 
the fact, as fact, by legitimate and conclusive evi- 
dence, produced therefor on due issue and actual 
contest, the existence and supremacy of Jehovah, 
and proving it to all men everywhere throughout 
the world, to the end of time ; for a proposition once 
duly proved is forever proved. That inestimable 
proof could not be made or given by other than 
Jehovah himself. It was Supernatural and Super- 
human Evidence, given to prove Supernatural and 
Superhuman facts, the Existence and Supremacy 
of God. 

CUSTODY OF THE EVIDENCE 

That deposition — deposit of truth — as a docu- 
ment was committed to the custody of the Hebrew 
Church, and the Church of Christ since its institu- 
tion; and in that custody it remains. It should be 



150 Miracle and Science 

deemed, as the fact is, proved " once for all." That 
great and Ancient Document — the book of Exodus 
— is to-day, as shown by extended examinations of 
the law on the subject in a former chapter, com- 
petent evidence, by the rules and laws of jurispru- 
dence, as an Ancient Document, to prove the, facts 
narrated in it. It is the testimony of God, gracious- 
ly given to men, once for all, on a scale of magni- 
tude appropriate for the great truths thereby 
proved, the existence of God and his supremacy, 
proved in an actual controversy, in a real contest, 
which Jehovah himself formulated and employed 
to be tried and proved by his miracle evidence; an 
issue between Jehovah and a great nation and its 
king, which involved the emancipation from slavery 
of 3,000,000 human beings, and the making of a na- 
tion formed from that emancipated people. The 
transcendent and inestimable value and importance 
of that proof was noticed at the beginning of the 
examination of this part of our subject. 

Tested by the rules and standards of science, 
these mighty purposes of God in the Exodus were 
accomplished by the evidence he gave by his mir- 
acle object-lessons; viz. 

1. God's existence and supremacy as facts, 
proved to men, by evidence, as facts are proved to 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 151 

men in administering the science of jurisprudence 
in courts of justice. 

2. Those proofs were written in the record of 
the Word of God. 

3. The record was committed to and has con- 
tinued in proper and adequate custody established 
in the Exodus and in the Church of Christ since it 
was founded to the present time. 

4. By all these the Name, Character, and Su- 
premacy of Jehovah " the only true God " were, 
have been, and still are constantly " declared " more 
and more " throughout all the earth." 

The profound importance in religion and the- 
ology of these truths, proved and established by the 
evidence of Jehovah at the Exodus, we have al- 
ready noted for reasons then briefly stated. But the 
preservation of that evidence and that proof in 
writing embraced in the Word of God deserves 
special notice in estimating the importance of that 
evidence and proof. Before the Exodus, evidence 
and proof of those great truths given to Adam, 
Enoch, Noah, and other servants of Jehovah 
(so far as appears) existed in oral tradition. In 
contrast to even carefully preserved oral tradition, 
the record shows that, at the Exodus, those truths 
were wrought out purposely and formally as the 



152 Miracle and Science 

evidence established them, so that the proof of those 
truths might be recorded and surely preserved, and 
truly promulgated throughout all the earth. 

To this should be added Jehovah's special com- 
mand, given through Moses to the Hebrews, to 
stand by and adhere to that evidence and those 
proofs which Jehovah had thus made of his exist- 
ence, supremacy, and character at the Exodus, 
including the decalogue spoken by Jehovah per- 
sonally and audibly to all the people at Sinai : 

" If there arise in the midst of thee a prophet, 
or a dreamer of dreams, and he give thee a 
sign or a wonder, and the sign or the won- 
der come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, 
saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou 
hast not known, and let us serve them; thou 
shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, 
or unto that dreamer of dreams ; for Jehovah your 
God proveth you, to know whether ye love Jehovah 
your God with all your heart and with all your 
soul. Ye shall walk after Jehovah your God, and 
fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey 
his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto 
him. And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, 
shall be put to death ; because he hath spoken rebel- 
lion against Jehovah your God, who brought you 
out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of 
the house of bondage, to draw thee aside out of the 



Miracle and Doctrine — - Jehovah 153 

way which Jehovah thy God commanded thee to 
walk in " (Deut. 13 : 1-5, Am. Rev. ; see, too, the 
exhortation of Christ to the same effect in Matt. 
21:24; Mark 13:22). 

In view of the whole situation, that command 
and exhortation of Jehovah seems basal, and to 
plainly proceed upon the proposition that at the Ex- 
odus those great fundamental truths the existence 
of God and the supremacy of God, he purposely, 
formally, fully, and conclusively proved to stand 
embraced within the doctrine of aira};, " once for 
all," the doctrine that transactions or truths that 
are basic, fundamental, primary, in religion, when 
once accomplished or established, and record thereof 
made, are not to be, or need not be, repeated. This 
doctrine is illustrated in the Epistle to the Hebrews, 
where the imperfection of human priests and their 
sacrifices is contrasted with the perfection of Christ 
as high priest, " who needeth not daily, like those 
high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for his own 
sins, and then for the sins of the people ; for this he 
did (avraf) once for all" (Heb. 7:23-28). Again, 
contrasting Christ's offices and sacrifice with the 
tabernacle sacrifices, the record is, Christ, " through 
his own blood, entered (a7raf ) once for all into the 



154 Miracle and Science 

holy place, having obtained eternal redemption " 
(Heb. 9:11, 12, Am. Rev.). Again, in further 
contrast, " But now (aira^) once [for all] at the end 
of the ages hath he [Christ] been manifested to put 
away sin by the sacrifice of himself " (Heb. 9 : 23- 
26, Am. Rev.). Again, connecting Christ's sacri- 
fice with the Old Testament Scriptures, the record 
is, " We have been sanctified through the offering of 
the body of Christ (aira%) once for all" (Heb. 
10:5, 10, Am. Rev.). 

Christ's express teaching is, he came not to de- 
stroy the law : "I came not to destroy but to fulfil " 
(Matt. 5:17, 18). Christ's work in fulfilling the 
Old Testament Word of God is pictured and pre- 
served to men in the Gospels, Acts, Epistles, and 
Revelation, supplementing the Old Testament, the 
whole constituting the Manual of Christianity, what 
believers from the first have agreed in calling " the 
Faith," because the cardinal virtue in the system is 
faith, and because, for men, all depends on faith. 

But, even in the times of the apostles, men had 
crept into Christ's Church claiming to be godly men, 
but whose teachings tended to sap the very founda- 
tions of truth. Jude tells us that, upon reflecting 
carefully upon what he should communicate to dis- 
ciples in view of that defection and evil attempted 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 155 

against the Christian religion, he was constrained to 
write and exhort believers " to contend earnestly 
for the faith which was (aira^) once for all delivered 
unto the saints" (Jude, ver. 3, Am. Rev.). Addi- 
tional illustrations of the doctrine are: 

" Christ being raised from the dead dieth no 
more; death no more hath dominion over him. 
For the death that he died, he died unto sin (aTraf ) 
once for all " (Rom. 6 : 9, 10, Am. Rev. margin). 

" Because Christ also suffered for sins (aira^) 
once [for all], the righteous for the unrighteous, 
that he might bring us to God " (1 Pet. 3 : 18). 

That great purpose of God in the Exodus — proof 
of his existence and supremacy having been thus in- 
dubitably given by Jehovah himself openly before 
the world on a scale of commanding magnitude, be- 
fore and upon two nations, by his prerogative mi- 
racle evidence, profoundly affecting every house- 
hold, every family, and every one of 10,000,000 
people throughout one of the great and foremost 
empires then in the world, preserved to be promul- 
gated throughout all the earth in the very nature 
of the case and on rational grounds the proof from 
a human point of view — is also within the doc- 
trine of (aWf ) " once for all." 



156 Miracle and Science 

Section V 

RIGHTEOUSNESS OF JEHOVAH DENIED BY 
SKEPTICS 

Christians contend that " the judgments of Jeho- 
vah are true and righteous altogether " (Ps. 19 : 9). 
Skeptics deny this, and allege that God in dealing 
with Pharaoh was unrighteous. The skeptics' ac- 
cusation regarding God's dealing with Pharaoh, as 
stated, we believe accurately, by Bishop Home, is, 
"A just God could not punish the Egyptian mon- 
arch for a hardness of heart of which he himself 
was evidently the cause. This is the objection in 
all its force." x Bishop Home's caution regarding 
the alleged Scripture basis of this accusation may 
be repeated here : 

" When we meet with an assertion apparently 
contrary to all the truth and equity in the world, it 
is but common justice to any writer, human or di- 
vine, to suppose that we mistake his meaning, and 
that the expression employed to convey it is capa- 
ble of an interpretation different from that which 
may first present itself." 2 

This accusation of skeptics has been a frequent sub- 
ject for commentators and theologians. They have 

1 Home's Introduction, vol. i. p. 558. 
'Home's Works, vol. vi. p. 481. 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 157 

met the skeptics' charge with great learning and 
ability. Their works are prized, and their conclu- 
sions refuting the skeptics are adopted, by the mass 
of disciples in the Christian connection. We do not 
discuss nor criticize their works. We simply do 
not follow in their path, but, as at present advised, 
we approach the examination of the question from 
a different base and by different methods. We say 
this because our reason and excuse for dealing with 
this charge of the skeptics is, that we have under- 
taken to examine the Bible record of miracles by 
rules, tests, and standards which jural science as 
administered in courts of justice has established for 
discriminating truth from error, and this contention 
of the skeptics, accusing God of unrighteousness, 
cannot be disengaged from the miracles of the Ex- 
odus. 

The profound gravity of the accusation charging 
God with unrighteousness justifies any elaboration 
or thoroughness of detail in the examination that 
may be necessary to elucidate the truth. That may 
not be avoided. The facts, the situation, and the 
circumstances disclosed by the whole record re- 
quire contemplation and examination from several 
points of view. These, when isolated, may not at 
once appear to be closely related; but when they 



158 Miracle and Science 

have been severally examined, and we are prepared 
for rational induction in regard to the question at 
issue, we believe logical relations will be shown 
and the truth evolved. The issue made by the 
skeptics' accusation is an issue of fact to be 
determined by evidence and reasoning applied 
thereto. Consideration of the record of deal- 
ing with Pharaoh's heart is deferred to an- 
other section. Jural science requires that, before 
considering the evidence, the "issue" be made 
clear and distinct, showing the grounds of dispute, 
and that it be clarified of aught that might hinder 
or prevent a right decision. 

skeptics' accusation analyzed 

Stated in propositions that may be examined and 
dealt with by jural science, the skeptics in charging 
God with unrighteousness allege three propositions, 
logically connected: viz. 1. God's destruction of 
the first-born of the Egyptians was inflicted es- 
pecially as punishment for Pharaoh's refusal to let 
the Hebrews go; 2. Pharaoh's refusal was caused 
by his being hard-hearted, or caused to stand ; 
3. God caused Pharaoh to be hard-hearted or to 
stand ; hence, God was himself the responsible cause 
of Pharaoh's refusal to let the Hebrews go. 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 159 

On those alleged propositions the skeptics con- 
tend that God is unrighteous, because a just God 
could not inflict punishment for conduct he himself 
had caused. Maintenance of all three of these 
propositions is indispensable for establishing the 
skeptics 5 accusation, for the grip and force of their 
accusation center in their contention that God pun- 
ished conduct which he himself had caused. To 
illustrate ; consider the first of their three proposi- 
tions. The skeptics must maintain that the destruc- 
tion of the first-born of Egypt was specially and 
expressly punishment for Pharaoh's refusal to let 
the Hebrews go, in order to fix on God their charge 
that God inflicted punishment for a specific refusal 
of Pharaoh, which specific refusal God himself had 
caused Pharaoh to make. For that charge is, by 
necessity of the skeptics' logic and reasoning, made 
to hinge expressly and directly on their contention 
that God's act inflicting the punishment was spe- 
cifically for specific refusal to let the Hebrews go — 
a refusal which God had himself caused. Analysis 
and examination of each of the other propositions 
yield the same result, for each, like the first, is a 
necessary and indispensable link in the chain of 
logic and reasoning by which the skeptics contend 
that they show God unrighteous, because, as al- 



160 Miracle and Science 

ready noticed, he punished conduct which he him- 
self had caused. 

The skeptics' first proposition will be first exam- 
ined. It is : " God's destruction of the first-born of 
the Egyptians was inflicted especially as punishment 
for Pharaoh's refusal to let the Hebrews go." Is 
this true ? We deny the proposition, and allege, on 
the contrary, that the destruction of the first-born 
of the Egyptians was punishment inflicted on that 
nation for the atrocious crimes perpetrated on the 
millions of Abraham's seed, in enslaving them and 
murdering their children, during eighty years or 
more before the Exodus era. And it was punish- 
ment inflicted in performance of God's covenant 
with Abraham, that for those crimes he would 
judge that guilty nation. The nine plagues so 
called inflicted on the Egyptians were not, nor was 
any of them, performance of God's judgment cove- 
nant with Abraham, but each of the nine was dis- 
tinctly dissevered from that judgment, a fact to be 
noticed later. Examination of the record, Old and 
New Testaments, shows that that covenant was 
made in immediate connection with, and to pro- 
mote, and in due time especially advance, the 
Christian dispensation, initiated a generation before 
the making of the covenant, as Stephen says, when 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 161 

Abraham was still " in Mesopotamia, before he 
dwelt in Charran " (Acts 7:2). 

For present purposes that dispensation may be 
briefly described as contemplating the making one 
man the spring-head of millions of descendants, 
imbued with a common trust and purpose, until 
sufficient in numbers to constitute a nation, and 
then to be invested with sovereignty over the land 
of Canaan, and made a government, a home and 
dwelling-place, where God should raise up teachers 
and prophets, through whom his law and love and 
plans of redemption should be revealed and com- 
mended to mankind, culminating in the advent of 
Jesus the Messiah, his life, teaching, revelation of 
God, his sacrifice, resurrection, and mission of sal- 
vation. This dispensation is described by its Sov- 
ereign author, in initiating it in Abraham, by ten 
words of our English translation — " in thee shall 
all families of the earth be blessed" (Gen. 12: 
3). This brief but cogent characterization of the 
Christian dispensation is constantly made its dis- 
tinguishing feature in describing it afterwards to 
Isaac (Gen. 26:4), and to Jacob (Gen. 28:14). 
Humanly speaking, the record shows that the om- 
niscience, omnipotence, and love of God as Sover- 
eign were pledged for the promotion, advancement, 



162 Miracle and Science 

and triumph of the dispensation in its foreseen 
vicissitudes and emergencies. 

GOD'S JUDGMENT COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM 

A generation after his call, Abraham sought of 
God evidence by which he should know that he and 
his seed should inherit the land. In immediate con- 
nection with giving Abraham objective miracle 
evidence, assuring Abraham that that part of the 
dispensation should in due time be surely consum- 
mated, as seen in a former chapter (p. 64), God 
made a further new covenant with Abraham in re- 
gard to that dispensation. God 

" said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed 
shall be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, (and 
shall serve them; and they shall afflict them) four 
hundred years; and also that nation, whom they 
shall serve, will I judge: and afterwards shall they 
come out" 1 (Gen. 15:14, Am. Rev.). 

The record is, that the nation in which Abraham's 
prolific seed should sojourn, would afflict them, and 

1 "According to the Hebrew accents, which we believe 
to be as correct indices of the sense as the Hebrew 
vowel-points, the middle clause of the verse, 'and they 
shall serve them, and they shall afflict them,' is to be 
read as parenthetical." Bush, Notes on Genesis, p. 250. 
From this the sojourning was to be four hundred years, 
not the affliction. 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 163 

for that oppression God covenanted with Abraham 
that he would execute his judgment on the guilty 
nation. 

If now we can trace this judgment covenant 
down through the centuries, and the history, to the 
Passover night, we shall have evidence and means 
by which we may determine whether the destruc- 
tion of the first-born of the Egyptians was pun- 
ishment of that nation for their affliction of the 
millions of Abraham's seed, by enslaving them and 
murdering their innocent children, for eighty years 
immediately before the Exodus, and done in per- 
formance of this judgment covenant of God with 
Abraham, or whether, as the skeptics contend, that 
destruction of the first-born was specially punish- 
ment of the negative offense of Pharaoh's simple 
refusal to stop sinning by letting the Hebrews go. 

The normal factors or indicia that furnish data 
for tracing a covenant are its essential elements, 
that is, the " subject-matter," the " obligation," 
and the parties — covenantor and covenantee. In 
the compact the covenantor agrees to perform 
designated " obligation " in regard to designated 
"subject-matter." The "subject-matter" and the 
" obligation " are rigidly correlated and interdepen- 
dent, not separable. Recognition or consideration 



164 Miracle and Science 

of either factor, subject-matter or obligation, inev- 
itably involves the other, for neither obligation nor 
subject-matter has function or vitality in the cove- 
nant, except in its relation to the other. Hence the 
bringing of either the subject-matter or the obli- 
gation of a covenant into the field of observation or 
action inevitably brings the other also into such 
field of observation or action. In the judgment 
covenant, slavery and affliction suffered by Abra- 
ham's seed from the Egyptians was the subject- 
matter of the covenant. The obligation of the 
covenant which the record shows God assumed was 
the infliction of proper and adequate judgment upon 
the guilty nation, in punishment for the oppression 
they should be found to have perpetrated upon 
Abraham's seed. God's covenant obligation in this 
compact with Abraham was, that guilty nation 
" will I judge." Inherent in a covenant for judg- 
ment by one having adequate power is the assur- 
ance by the covenantor, that the judgment shall be 
adequate and commensurate with the greatness of 
the wrong or evil that calls for the judgment. Be- 
sides the foregoing indicia for identifying this 
judgment covenant, we have another in the inci- 
dental result, the covenant asserted would be pro- 
duced by the judgment, namely, that, as a result of 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 165 

the judgment, Abraham's seed should be emanci- 
pated. This is stated incidentally as a result after 
the judgment has been executed, " afterward shall 
they come out." 

A REVELATION 

The passage describing the judgment covenant, 
when examined in view of the Christian dispensa- 
tion as disclosed in the record, is seen to be a reve- 
lation. It reveals the fact that, before announcing 
that covenant, God had contemplated the Exodus 
era, and the exigent condition which the Christian 
dispensation would then be in, and also the condi- 
tion of enslavement of Abraham's seed, — conditions 
which if unrelieved implied failure of that dispen- 
sation. The record shows, that God had definitely 
determined to overcome these conditions, by pun- 
ishing the Egyptian nation for their guilt, and by 
devising and executing upon that nation such judg- 
ment as should incidentally result in freeing Abra- 
ham's seed from thralldom, bring them out of the 
house of bondage, and start them on their career to 
nationality in the promised realm, and thereby ad- 
vance in fact the Christian dispensation to that stage 
of its evolution. 

Such definite determination of Jehovah in regard 
to specific action constitutes Divine Decree on that 



166 Miracle and Science 

subject. The plain language and import of the pas- 
sage recording the judgment covenant compels the 
presupposition of the above conclusions, for they are 
the indispensable bases on which the covenant pro- 
ceeds and stands. It is that the oppressions of the 
Hebrews should be punished by a judgment,, the 
incidental result of which should be the emancipa- 
tion of the Hebrews, and consequent advance of 
the Christian dispensation, dependent as it was on 
deliverance of the Hebrews from slavery. Thence- 
forward that divine decree made the judgment 
covenant integral, and brought it into direct and 
actual relation, to the advancement of that dispen- 
sation, as a fact and factor, in the way and method 
by which it should be promoted, by the effect and 
operation of that judgment. 

That the judgment covenant God made with 
Abraham is integral and constituent among the 
facts and factors by which the record shows God 
planned to, and did, promote the Christian dispen- 
sation is shown by Stephen when he was brought 
before the council on trial for his life. Stephen de- 
fended preaching the gospel of Christ by contend- 
ing from the Scriptures and the nation's history, 
that the Christian dispensation was ordained and 
had been brought onward by God, and that Jesus 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 167 

Christ was its culmination. Stephen established his 
contention and defense by producing in his address 
to the council the great and dominating facts 
and factors whereby God had ordained, delivered, 
upheld, and promoted the Christian dispensation. 
Stephen stated briefly, first, the initial fact in the 
dispensation, the call of Abraham ; then, as the fore- 
most fact and factor, he brought forward this judg- 
ment covenant, made when, as yet, Abraham had 
no inheritance in Canaan, " not so much as to set 
his foot on." Stephen says: 

"And God spake on this wise, that his [Abra- 
ham's] seed should sojourn in a strange land, and 
that they should bring them into bondage, and treat 
them ill. . . . And the nation to which they shall be 
in bondage will I judge, said God; and after that 
shall they come forth, and serve me in this place " 
(Acts 7:6, 7, Am. Rev.). 

This judgment covenant was made with Abra- 
ham, but was for his posterity, and passed to his 
descendants at his decease. The record shows this, 
conspicuously so, in the case of his immediate de- 
scendants, Isaac and Jacob, as will be seen as we 
progress. 

TRACING THE JUDGMENT COVENANT 

A generation after the judgment covenant was 
made, Abraham's faith was tested by God's com- 



168 Miracle and Science 

mand to offer up his son Isaac in sacrifice. When 
Abraham's faith triumphed, the record shows that, 
in recognition of that triumph, God by a new and 
unique way reassured Abraham that all the good 
and blessings for all mankind he had promised 
should be fully performed, that is, this was assured 
by God's oath, in which he swore by himself, because 
" there was none greater." That included the 
judgment covenant (Gen. 22:16-18). When the 
voice of Jehovah giving that assurance called " out 
of heaven," Isaac, just delivered from death, was 
present. It is not recorded that Isaac heard what 
was called to Abraham out of heaven, but Isaac 
seems to have known what Jehovah then promised 
to Abraham, for, after Abraham's decease, a fam- 
ine afflicted Isaac. God then appeared to Isaac and 
counseled him to refrain from going to Egypt, as 
Isaac proposed. In that interview God assured 
Isaac, " I will perform the oath which I sware unto 
Abraham thy father." The quotation does not 
state what the oath comprehended. Of course 
Abraham may have told Isaac; but the situation, 
and Isaac's most serious part in the trial of Abra- 
ham's faith, would seem to justify believing he 
heard that oath, and what it comprehended, when 
it was spoken on Mount Moriah. 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 169 

A generation later God appeared to Jacob at 
Bethel, and confirmed to him what he had promised 
to Abraham and to Isaac, including all that was to 
be efficient in bringing to success the dispensation 
that should give blessing to all the families of the 
earth (Gen. 28:13-15). The judgment covenant 
was integral in that. The comment of the Psalmist 
on these transactions in that dispensation is: 
" He is Jehovah our God : 
His judgments are in all the earth. 
He hath remembered his covenant forever, 
The word which he commanded to a 

thousand generations, 
The covenant which he made with Abra- 
ham, 
And his oath unto Isaac, 
And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a 

statute, 
To Israel for an everlasting covenant." 
God's judgment covenant with Abraham descended 
to and became his covenant with Isaac and with 
Jacob in the line of descent and was confirmed to 
them, as the evidence shows, and as the Psalmist 
records (Ps. 105:7-10). 

JUDGMENT COVENANT EXODUS ERA 

Coming down in time to the Exodus era, and in- 
quiring regarding the judgment covenant, we find 



170 Miracle and Science 

the Exodus movement initiated by Abraham's seed, 
groaning by reason of bitter slavery and murdered 
offspring. "And their cry came up unto God by 
reason of the bondage" (Ex. 2:23). This afflic- 
tion of Abraham's seed by the Egyptians was ex- 
actly and expressly the " subject-matter " of the 
judgment covenant. Inevitably it brought with it, 
into the field of view and action, its correlative the 
" obligation " of God in the covenant to judge the 
Egyptians for that affliction. 

Of that prayer and appeal to God the record 
is: "[1] And God heard their groaning, [2] and 
God remembered his covenant with Abraham, 
with Isaac, and with Jacob .... and [3] God took 
knowledge." That is, (1) the prayer of Abraham's 
descendants brought before God especially their 
afflictions perpetrated on them by the nation in 
whose land they were sojourning. This was the 
identical subject-matter of the judgment covenant, 
and inevitably brought into the field of view and 
action the counterpart of the covenant, i, e. the 
obligation of God, the covenantor. (2) Of this the 
record is, " God remembered his covenant." This 
can mean nothing less than his covenant made with 
Abraham in regard to that identical subject-matter, 
the cruel affliction of Abraham's seed by the nation 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 171 

in whose land they were sojourning. The stated 
facts and the situation and history identify the cov- 
enant that, it is recorded, God then, on hearing 
that groaning and prayer, remembered as the judg- 
ment covenant. The subject-matter identifies it as 
that covenant of which the obligation was, that, for 
that cruel oppression of Abraham's seed, God would 
judge the guilty Egyptians. But the judgment 
was, in course of time and successively, God's cov- 
enant with Isaac, and with Jacob; and so it is 
named in the passage quoted. But (3) the further 
record of the prayer and God's action in regard to it 
is, "And God took knowledge." This statement in 
the Hebrew seems to have perplexed translators, 
for their versions differ. They add, in the Amer- 
ican version, in italics, " of them." But there are 
no words in the Hebrew for which the words " of 
them " stand in the English translation. 

But that sentence, "And God took knowledge," 
when examined, by standards and principles of 
jural science, in connection with the conditions and 
situation, is plain and highly important; for it not 
only identifies the covenant which the record says 
God " remembered " as the judgment covenant, 
but it also shows that God then and there took in 
hand, and commenced performing, the obligation 



172 Miracle and Science 

of that covenant. For the sentence, " God took 
knowledge," describes the indispensable act of the 
just judge, in commencing performance of his judi- 
cial functions, in any given case. His act and duty 
in every case is first to take all necessary means, 
by evidence, by observation and due investigation, 
by which the judge shall come to know, and be 
duly informed of, all facts and matters whatsoever 
that ought properly to be considered by him in mak- 
ing up his judgment to be executed, as to its 
severity or its operation or effect, and in all proper 
respects. Although Christians understand God al- 
ways knows, yet the formality of due procedure is 
not omitted from the record, that, in commencing 
to perform the obligation of his covenant to judge 
the Egyptians for their atrocities inflicted on the 
Hebrews, God took knowledge of all that ought to 
be considered in determining what that judgment 
should be, in order that it should accomplish the 
purposes predicted, and also any further purpose 
which Infinite Wisdom might deem proper. Addi- 
tional evidence that God then took in hand perform- 
ance of the judgment covenant is shown in Exodus 
9:15, 16, in which judgment cutting off from the 
earth by pestilence Pharaoh and his people was 
contemplated. While that judgment would have 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 173 

resulted in emancipating the Hebrews and in pun- 
ishing the guilty Egyptians, it would not have 
furnished proof of the supreme attributes of Dei- 
ty, Omniscience, Omnipotence, and Omnipresence, 
whereby God's revealed character, or " Name," 
should be declared throughout all the earth, which 
proof was a further purpose of God expressly 
named in verse 16. This will be specially consider- 
ed later. Although considered it was rejected, and 
a less severe judgment was finally adopted, smiting 
one at least in every Egyptian house. 

The foregoing clearly identifies the covenant 
that, it is recorded, God then remembered. It was 
the judgment covenant he made with Abraham, 
more than four hundred years before, to judge the 
Egyptians for the wrongs they had inflicted on 
Abraham's seed through the generations imme- 
diately previous to the beginning of the Exodus 
era. It was to be a judgment that should have the 
incidental result of delivering Abraham's seed from 
servitude, and take them out of the house of bond- 
age. Further tracing the judgment covenant, we 
find that, when Moses first communicated God's 
command to Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go, 
Pharaoh refused and, in defiance of the command, 
imposed heavier burdens upon the Hebrews. When 



174 Miracle and Science 

they failed to perform the increased burden, Pha- 
raoh had them scourged. The added affliction 
seems to have driven the Hebrews almost to 
despair. They bitterly reproached Moses, as the 
cause of the added affliction, and called on God to 
judge Moses for making them abhorred by Pha- 
raoh, and putting a sword into the hands of the 
Egyptians to destroy them (Ex. 5:20, 21). Moses 
took the agony of the Hebrews to God. 

It was again the very subject-matter of the judg- 
ment covenant, and brought again, into the field of 
view and consideration, that covenant and God's 
obligation therein. God's answer to Moses recog- 
nized all this. It was: 

" I have heard the groaning of the children of 
Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage ; and I 
have remembered my covenant. Wherefore say 
unto the children of Israel, I am Jehovah, and I 
will bring you out from under the burdens of the 
Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, 
and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, 
and with great judgments " (Ex. 6:5, 6). 
This was not only express recognition of the judg- 
ment covenant, as the matter then in hand, but it 
was express recognition of the obligation of God, 
under that covenant, to deliver the Hebrews, as a 
result of the judgment he would inflict upon the 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 175 

Egyptians for oppressing the Hebrews. The 
answer of God to Moses, spoken in the past tense, 
referred to God's former remembrance of that 
covenant, and his commencement to perform its 
obligation, to punish the Egyptians. It may be 
worthy of notice that the mention of " great judg- 
ments " in the message God sent to the Hebrews 
by Moses shows that a comparison is suggested 
between lesser and greater punishments, inflicted 
upon the Egyptians in the Exodus epoch. Two 
great judgments, and only two, in the comparative 
character of greatness, are described and recorded : 
one, smiting the first-born of the Egyptians; and 
the other, judgment executed against " all the 
gods of Egypt" (Ex. 12:12). These two great 
judgments are mentioned again in Numbers : 

" On the morrow after the passover the children 
of Israel went out with a high hand in the sight of 
all the Egyptians, while the Egyptians were bury- 
ing all their first-born, whom Jehovah had smitten 
among them ; upon their gods also Jehovah execu- 
ted judgments" (Num. 33: 3, 4, Am. Rev.). 

NINE PUNISHMENTS OF EGYPTIANS 

Incident to tracing the judgment covenant, it is 
necessary, at this point, to examine nine punish- 
ments inflicted on the Egyptians, for disobeying 



176 Miracle and Science 

God's command, issued subsequently to the com- 
mencement of the Exodus epoch; because accus- 
ing skeptics contend that the destruction of the 
first-born of the Egyptians must be classed with, 
and considered and dealt with as one with, the 
nine punishments we are now to consider. 

The distinction and difference between these 
nine punishments and the judgment destroying the 
first-born of Egypt are so radical — the contrast is 
so broad, vast, and fundamental — that the skeptics' 
contention cannot be maintained. The nine pun- 
ishments are conclusively dissevered from being 
punishments for crimes perpetrated on the Hebrews 
by the Egyptians before the Exodus, by the fact 
that, in each and every of the nine cases, the pun- 
ishment was inflicted, specifically and expressly, for 
disobedience occurring after the Exodus epoch com- 
menced. God issued his command to Pharaoh, in 
those nine cases, to let the Hebrews go, and accom- 
panied his command with express warning, that, 
if Pharaoh disobeyed, specific punishment for that 
specific disobedience should be inflicted, and it was 
inflicted accordingly. To illustrate: Jehovah mer- 
cifully considered Pharaoh's ignorant conception 
concerning God, and, with his command, provided 
the harmless miracle with Moses' rod to meet Pha- 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 177 

raoh's demand for miracle evidence, to authenticate 
God's messenger and command heretofore con- 
sidered. When that failed, the record is, because 
Pharaoh had not hearkened, God wrought the mir- 
acle upon the waters of Egypt. When that failed, 
God said of the future action of the Egyptians, 
" If thou refuse to let them [the Hebrews] go, I will 
smite " the land with frogs (Ex. 8:2). When Pha- 
raoh gave his word as sovereign that he would 
let the Hebrews go if the frogs were removed, as 
they were, and then forfeited his word, God 
wrought his miracle of lice. This failing, God 
warned Pharaoh of the future that he let the 
Hebrews go, " Else, if thou wilt not .... I will 
send" plague of flies (Ex. 8:21). That failing, 
God repeated his command, and said again of the 
future, " If thou refuse," murrain upon the cattle 
of Egypt should be inflicted. This failing, chas- 
tisement of boils was inflicted, and after that the 
chastisement of hail was conditionally threatened, 
i. e. " Exaltest thou thyself ? " etc. " I will cause 
it to rain a very grievous hail " to destroy your 
crops (Ex. 9:17, 18). That chastisement failing, 
God repeated his command to let the Hebrews go, 
and said, " Else, if thou refuse," plagues of locusts 
shall be inflicted (Ex. 10 : 14). 



178 Miracle and Science 

Characteristic of these punishments is the fact 
that they were announced to be inflicted, if later 
Pharaoh or his nation disobeyed God's command. 
Punishment was the alternative of obedience. The 
punishment could in each case be wholly avoided, 
if Pharaoh obeyed God's command. Each of the 
nine punishments announced, was announced as 
contingent, conditional. None was absolute or 
positive. Each could have been obviated by obey- 
ing after the warning was announced. Each was 
preannounced specific punishment for specific 
wrong subsequently committed. The judgment 
destroying the first-born of Egypt had none of 
these characteristics. It was announced as abso- 
lute, independent, no alternative. The last of those 
nine punishments was that of thick darkness in all 
the land of Egypt, such that the Egyptians " saw 
not one another, neither rose any one from his place 
for three days " (Ex. 10: 23). 

FURTHER TRACING OF THE JUDGMENT COVENANT 

If now we bring the tracing of the judgment 
covenant down to the end of those three days of 
darkness, what does the situation disclose in regard 
to that covenant ? It shows that, up to that time, 
the Egyptians had not yet been judged for their 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 179 

enormous crimes which they had inflicted on the 
Hebrews, through the eighty years preceding the 
Exodus date. All the conditions show that God's 
covenant that he would judge the Egyptians for 
those crimes had not been performed. Yet the 
misery, woe, and agony of slavery of the millions 
of the Hebrews, and murders of their children, 
constituted most urgent call for performance of 
that covenant, and most potent protest against de- 
lay. Then with those conditions, imperative and 
importunate, calling for performance of God's 
covenant to judge the guilty Egyptians, and in im- 
mediate connection with instituting the Passover, 
God announced his judgment that he would inflict 
on the Egyptians. He communicated the announce- 
ment to Moses, that he might cause the blood- 
sprinkled door-posts of the Hebrews to furnish the 
sign that secured their immunity. 

GOD JUDGED THE EGYPTIANS 

The judgment is designated generally in Exodus 
11 : 1, 4, 5. It was to be a smiting of the Egyp- 
tians. The added statement of the incidental effect 
of the judgment, viz. " afterwards he will let you go 
hence," identifies the judgment as the one stipulated 
for in the judgment covenant. The detail is: 



180 Miracle and Science 

"About midnight will I go out into the midst of 
Egypt: and all the first-born in the land of Egypt 
shall die, from the first-born of Pharaoh upon his 
throne, even unto the first-born of the maid-servant 
that is behind the mill ; and all the first-born of cat- 
tle." 

That judgment at the midnight hour of the Pass- 
over night was executed throughout the empire of 
Egypt. The first-born was smitten, and there was 
not a house in Egypt where there was not one 
dead, nor field or flock without the first-born dead. 
If considered from the viewpoint of its being pun- 
ishment of the Egyptians commensurate and pro- 
portionate to their crimes perpetrated on the 
Hebrews for more than eighty years, it was a 
mighty punishment for gigantic crimes. As affect- 
ing the nation, it penetrated to every house and 
home in the realm, smiting, in each, at least one 
with death. For more than eighty years the Egyp- 
tians had enslaved, with cruelty, not merely one in 
a home, but the entire Hebrew people, of several 
millions, and murdered thousands upon thousands 
of innocent children, for the malignant purpose of 
more effectually fastening the fetters enslaving the 
Hebrews. That it was punishment proportionate 
to the enormous crimes of the Egyptians cannot 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 181 

be denied. It was a judgment adequate, and a just 
performance of God's covenant with Abraham, that 
he would judge the Egyptians for their atrocious, 
long-continued crimes perpetrated on Abraham's 
seed. 

JUDGMENT COVENANT PERFORMED 

Tracing the judgment covenant down through 
the centuries and the history to the Passover night, 
and reading the record it involves, and simply ap- 
prehending the evidence, impel the unbiased mind 
to the conclusion, that the destruction of the first- 
born of the Egyptians on the Passover night was 
God's punishment of the Egyptians for their crimes 
perpetrated on the Hebrews for more than three 
generations; also, that it was God's performance 
of his covenant to judge the Egyptian nation for 
those crimes — covenant made with Abraham four 
hundred and more years before. Plainly, if that 
was not God's performance of his covenant with 
Abraham to judge the Egyptians, then God did not 
perform that covenant, a conclusion that cannot 
be permitted, especially when, as here, a judgment 
of God executed upon the Egyptians is recorded, 
which in all respects constitutes performance of 
that covenant. It was punishment of the Egyp- 



182 Miracle and Science 

tians for their cruel oppression of the Hebrews 
during three generations. 

If, as has been believed, the Egyptians numbered 
7,000,000 at the Passover, and it not being unrea- 
sonable to assume one in seven was a first-born, 
that would show that 1,000,000 human beings were 
smitten with death in one midnight hour, and num- 
berless cattle were then smitten with death also. 
To contend that that appalling judgment must be 
classed with, and considered, and dealt with, as 
merely one more chastisement for the negative of- 
fense of mere refusal to stop sinning, by letting the 
Hebrews go, like troubling the Egyptians with 
frogs, flies, hail, boils, lice, etc., and by that classifi- 
cation and treatment claiming to prevent the judg- 
ment from being God's performance of his covenant 
with Abraham, seems an affront to common reason. 
For common reason apprehends instinctively that 
such appalling judgment calls for proof of propor- 
tionate guilt. Such guilt is found in the eighty 
years of continuous enslavement and murders of 
Hebrews, for which God covenanted he would ade- 
quately punish that guilty nation. No other crimes 
of the Egyptians against Abraham's seed are shown 
that measure up to that appalling judgment, but 
those continuous crimes of eighty years do. 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 183 

On the question of the identity of the destruc- 
tion of the first-born of Egypt with the judgment 
God covenanted with Abraham that he would in- 
flict on the guilty Egyptians, we have traced the 
judgment covenant through the centuries, and 
reached our conclusion, but have not definitely ex- 
amined the first verse of Exodus 11. The King 
James'" Version shows that the translators, with 
nothing in the Hebrew to justify it, injected a 
notion of their own into the translation by the word 
" more " in italics, making the clause read " one 
plague more," instead of the plain Hebrew. By 
that deplorable injection of the translators'* notion 
into the English version, instead of holding to the 
plain original, the translators classified God's judg- 
ment smiting the first-born of Egypt, with the nine 
punishments we have above described, apparently 
making that appalling judgment one more punish- 
ment inflicted specially for Pharaoh's refusal to 
let the Hebrews go: and thereby the translators 
have furnished skeptics, apparently, with Scripture 
basis for alleging their accusation that God is un- 
righteous. 

Hebrew scholarship informs us that the Hebrew 
of the first clause of the first verse of the eleventh 
chapter of Exodus, rendered literally into English. 



184 Miracle and Science 

is, " One smiting will I bring upon Pharaoh and 
the Egyptians." That is the distinct, independent 
proposition. The judgment announced is, in the 
Hebrew, distinctly one potent smiting. It is not 
one more. It is independent, unrelated to any 
other judgment. It is positive, and not contingent. 
It is absolute, and not conditioned. It was an- 
nounced as certain, with no alternative. It was not 
to be avoided or obviated by any act or course of 
action by the Egyptians. When the literal render- 
ing from the Hebrew into English is understood 
as embodied in our English version, the Bible does 
not antagonize, but harmonizes and cogently cor- 
roborates, the conclusion, that the destruction of 
the first-born of Egypt was God's performance of 
his judgment covenant with Abraham, and was 
punishment for the crimes and guilt of the Egyptian 
nation for their appalling oppression of Abraham's 
descendants through three generations. It shows 
that the skeptics' first proposition, viz. that God's 
destruction of the first-born of the Egyptians was 
inflicted especially as punishment for Pharaoh's 
refusal to let the Hebrews go, is unfounded and 
untrue; also, that the skeptics' accusation, that 
God is unrighteous, based on that unfounded and 
untrue proposition, is also unfounded and untrue. 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 185 

Section VI 

DEALING WITH PHARAOH'S HEART 

This subject, deferred from a former section, 
remains to be examined. A general statement of 
conditions and matters involved in and affecting 
this and the other issues growing out of the mira- 
cles of the Exodus has already been made (pp. 118- 
122), and though not repeated here, is essen- 
tial and should be kept in mind. But another 
material fact, especially affecting the subject, 
should also be noticed in clarifying the issue. The 
original record of Jehovah's dealing with Pharaoh 
is in the Hebrew language. The skeptics' denial of 
the righteousness of Jehovah is based on the En- 
glish translation. 

In the Exodus there are sixteen passages de- 
scribing conditions of the heart of Pharaoh before 
the destruction of the first-born of Egypt. In our 
old translations, the word " harden " is employed. 
In the new or revised translation, the word 
"strengthen" is named by the Revisers (see mar- 
gin). The original Hebrew word so translated is 
chazaq. In its variation, it is translated more than 
one hundred times by words signifying firmness, 
resoluteness, as " strengthen," " might," " courage," 



186 Miracle and Science 

and only twenty-eight times by the word " harden," 
nearly all of these instances being in the translation 
of Exodus. Our citations in this section are from 
the American Revision. 

The lexicons show the primary sense of the 
Hebrew word is " to bind fast," " to gird tight," 
" to make strong." Applied to men, it expresses 
the idea of firmness, courage, resoluteness, which, 
when excessive, becomes stubborn insistence against 
opponents. But the word so translated does not in 
its primary sense embrace the idea of malevolence, 
personal hatred, enmity of heart, cruelty, or ma- 
liciousness, which qualities are easily recognized 
in the English words " hard-heartedness " or 
" hardness of heart." The record itself shows that 
the reluctance of Pharaoh to letting the Hebrews 
go was reluctance not based on losing opportunity 
to gratify malevolence, but on reluctance to losing 
the wealth of nations of that age — the service of 
3,000,000 slaves. This appears in the record, where 3 
after having let the Hebrews go, Pharaoh and the 
Egyptians changed their minds, and said, " What is 
this we have done, that we have let Israel go from 
serving us?" (Ex. 14: 5). The legal maxim seems 
plainly applicable here: " Expressio unius exclmio 
alterius." 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 187 

RULE CONSTRUING INTENT 

The sense in which the Hebrew word is used in 
Exodus is clearly shown, also, by applying to the 
record the rule of jurisprudence, that when, in a 
transaction, an actor declares his intention or pur- 
pose in his act, that intent and purpose becomes 
res gestae, part of the transaction itself, and es- 
tablishes its character accordingly. 1 Here Jehovah, 
the actor, says, in an express message to Pharaoh, 
that he might have emancipated the Hebrews by 
smiting Pharaoh and all his people with pestilence, 
cutting them off from the earth ; " but in very 
deed for this cause have I made thee to stand, to 
show thee my power, and that my name may be 
declared throughout all the earth" (Ex. 9:16). 
Although critical linguistic examination of each 
separate one of the Hebrew words translated by 
" harden," " strengthen," etc., might disclose varied 
shades of meaning, the statement of Jehovah him- 
self, in his use of the several words, merges all in 
one meaning in one common purpose, that of caus- 
ing Pharaoh to " stand " so that Jehovah might 
accomplish his avowed purpose, of then and there 

1 Whart. on Ev. 258, 259, cases; 1 Greenleaf on Ev. 
sees. 108-123; United States v. Noelke, 17 Blatch. 554, 
570. 



188 Miracle and Science 

proving his existence and supremacy, and that his 
Name might be proclaimed throughout all the 
earth. Jehovah himself here interprets the lan- 
guage he used, as the poet says: 

" Blind unbelief is sure to err, 
And scan His work in vain, 
God is His own interpreter, 
And He will make it plain." 

Strengthening Pharaoh's firmness, causing him 
to stand to the issues he made by his denials, and 
not hardening his heart in the line of malevolence 
or viciousness, is the real record in the matter in 
the Hebrew ; and so it should be translated, and 
so it should be considered in our examination. 

APOLOGETICS 

Christian apologists, in meeting the charge of 
unrighteousness of Jehovah in dealing with Pha- 
raoh's heart, sometimes urge the proposition that 
one's act, in refusing to obey a known command of 
God, as Christians in our day apprehend him, puts 
the soul in conscious rebellion against God, and, 
when persisted in, operates to harden the heart in 
sin. The psychological fact is not disputed. But 
does not apology on the basis of that doctrine, i. e. 
hardening a man's heart, seem unjustly to assume 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 189 

that what God produced in Pharaoh's heart was 
viciousness and sin, an assumption not in accord 
with Jehovah's declared purpose, and not support- 
ed by the evidence ? 

Also, further analysis of the aforesaid sixteen 
passages, regarding Pharaoh's firmness, shows that 
in three instances the firmness is attributed to Pha- 
raoh himself, stimulating his own fortitude (Ex. 
8 : 15, 32 ; 9 : 34) ; two merely proposed (Ex. 4 : 21 ; 
7:3); in six no personal agent in the operation is 
indicated (Ex. 7:13, 14, 22; 8: 19; 9: 7, 35). 
But in five Jehovah is designated as the actor (Ex. 
9:12; 10 : 1, 20, 27 ; 11 : 10 ) . It should be noticed 
that these five instances occurred after, and not 
until after, the first six miracles had been wrought 
clearly proving Jehovah's existence and supremacy. 

But in addition to the plain meaning of the lan- 
guage in the record, reasons are given why in these 
five instances it was done, namely, in order that 
the testimony of Jehovah by his miracles might be 
given, fully produced then and there, to prove the 
existence and supreme attributes of Jehovah, and 
that that proof might be declared throughout all 
the earth. Deferring present examination of the 
phrase " caused to stand," we examine the other, 
" hardening Pharaoh's heart." 



190 Miracle and Science 

HEART HARDENED 

The skeptics' charge that God punished conduct 
that he had himself caused, rests on their contention 
that the true sense of the clause which states Jehovah 
hardened Pharaoh's heart, when rightly interpreted, 
is, that thereby Jehovah produced superhuman and 
supernatural effects upon Pharaoh, depriving him 
of freedom of will and of action, coerced him to 
refuse to let the Hebrews go, and thereby took off 
from Pharaoh responsibility and culpability for 
that refusal, and fixed upon Jehovah responsibility 
therefor. The clause in question is a figurative 
expression, describing effects produced upon Pha- 
raoh, and occurs a number of times in Exodus, the 
hardening of heart caused sometimes by Jehovah, 
and sometimes by Pharaoh himself. The clause is 
therefore a proper subject for interpretation. The 
Cardinal Rule of interpretation, established in jural 
science for discriminating truth from error, is that 
when the same words occur in different parts of 
the same written or printed document, " they 
must be taken to have been everywhere used in the 
same sense." 1 The reason for the rule is intensi- 
x Dwarris on Statutes, 574 (2d Ed. London) ; Car- 
dinal Rules of Legal Interpretation, 148 Beal, London; 
The Queen v. Poor, L. Com. 6 A. & E. 56; Cortauld v. 
Legh L. R. 4 Ex. 126, 130. 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 191 

fied when, as here, the words are applied in every 
instance solely and specially to one subject, the 
heart of Pharaoh. The rule requires that one and 
the same sense and meaning designating what is 
identical must be given to the clause in question 
in every instance where it occurs in the document 
— Exodus in this case. Whatever the effect was 
that was produced on Pharaoh by what is described 
as hardening his heart, the rule requires that the 
sense and meaning of the effect as described in 
the clause shall be identical, one and the same, in 
every instance in which it occurs, whoever is the 
actor, Pharaoh or Jehovah, in causing it. That 
requires such an interpretation of the clause as 
shall describe what a human being, using human 
power and natural forces, could thereby produce 
in Pharaoh; for the hardening of Pharaoh's heart 
is recorded expressly as done by Pharaoh at least 
three times (Ex. 8:15, 32; 9:34), and in two of 
those instances before it is recorded as caused by 
Jehovah (Ex. 9:12). Pharaoh could, as he did. 
stimulate his firmness, brace his fortitude, nurse 
his natural wilfulness. 

The whole evidence shows Pharaoh was haughty, 
wilful, inordinately stubborn and obstinate. When 
his sacred scribes knew that the proof of God's 



192 Miracle and Science 

existence and supremacy was conclusive, they 
counseled Pharaoh to yield, saying of the plague of 
lice, "This is the finger of God" (Ex. 8:19); 
and when the plague of locusts was imminent, his 
other counselors, speaking for themselves and their 
fellow-Egyptians, earnestly entreated Pharaoh to 
yield, saying to him, " Let the men go, that they 
may serve Jehovah their God; knowest thou not 
yet that Egypt is destroyed ?" (Ex. 10:7). But 
in each case Pharaoh stubbornly rejected the wise 
counsel and urgent entreaties of his own people, 
and " hearkened not unto them." 

But Pharaoh, a human being with the limitation 
of humanity, could not, in what is described as 
hardening of the heart, produce either superhuman 
or supernatural effects, and the clause must be so 
limited accordingly ; for a sense and meaning must 
be given to the clause limiting the magnitude of 
what is described as hardening Pharaoh's heart to 
what is possible to humanity. This is indispen- 
sable in the case, because the sense and meaning 
given to the clause must not be so great as to in- 
clude what is impossible for a human being to 
produce, for it must be limited to what Pharaoh 
could do and did do as recorded in the instances 
cited, and there can be but one interpretation, 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 193 

whoever, whether Pharaoh or Jehovah, is actor in 
hardening the heart. This indispensable limitation 
therefore refutes the claim of the skeptics, for it 
precludes interpreting the clause regarding harden- 
ing Pharaoh's heart, to have the sense or meaning 
that Jehovah thereby produced superhuman or 
supernatural effects upon Pharaoh, and precludes 
the skeptics from claiming the results they allege 
as produced, as they contend, by superhuman and 
supernatural effects, namely, depriving Pharaoh of 
freedom of will and action, and coercing him to 
refuse to let the Hebrews go, and their other 
claims consequent thereon. The clause alleging 
hardening of the heart of Pharaoh, when duly in- 
terpreted by the cardinal rules and principles of 
jural science, shows that the skeptics' interpreta- 
tion is unsound and untrue, and that their accusa- 
tion of unrighteousness of God, based on such false 
interpretation, is also untrue. 

That accusation of unrighteousness, based on the 
skeptics' false interpretation of that clause, is also 
shown to be untrue, when we examine, on its 
merits, the evidence of what the effect of harden- 
ing his heart was on Pharaoh in fact. It would be 
tedious, and it is not necessary, to examine each 
instance alleging the hardening of Pharaoh's heart 



194 Miracle and Science 

By examining two prominent and representative 
instances, in which Pharaoh is represented as 
under the effect described as hardening of his 
heart, — one in which it is caused as recorded by 
Jehovah, and the other in which it is caused by 
Pharaoh himself, — we may get at the truth in the 
matter. We select for this purpose two episodes — 
the plague of hail and the plague of locusts. 

PLAGUE OF HAIL 

Immediately in connection with the plague of 
hail, it is recorded Jehovah hardened the heart of 
Pharaoh (Ex. 9:22). When the horror of the 
plague became unendurable, Pharaoh called for 
Moses and Aaron (Ex. 9:27), and an interview 
was had. Our question here is, Was Pharaoh's 
will then, after the record says Jehovah hardened 
his heart — was his freedom of will taken away, 
and he not responsible for refusing to let the 
Hebrews go ? Pharaoh was solely the one single 
and only human being that knew what the fact was, 
and so the only one able truly to answer that ques- 
tion. Pharaoh's testimony at that interview was 
direct answer to it. It was not given secretly or 
covertly to friends, but openly to those deemed 
hostile to him and his nation. His testimony was 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 195 

direct, explicit, and unequivocal. He testified, " I 
have sinned this time " ; also, " Jehovah is right- 
eous, and I and my people are wicked " (Ex. 9 : 27). 
Consider Pharaoh's condition, — proud, haughty, 
stubborn, and a king of a great nation, — and 
the humiliation he must have experienced in 
making this abject confession. As the record 
discloses Pharaoh's character, the conclusion is 
forced upon us, that, if any possible excuse could 
have been given to relieve him from the responsi- 
bility of his refusal to let the Hebrews go, he 
would have brought it forward, and stated it, be- 
fore he would make that abject confession to men 
he and his nation deemed their slaves. He did not 
excuse himself, or cast blame upon any one else, 
because no such excuse existed in fact, and he of 
all men in the world knew it. His confession is 
that of a man knowing his mind and the situation, 
his duty, and his voluntary and wilful disobedience, 
and conscious guilt, and it was unequivocal, open, 
public confession. Pharaoh then and there admitt- 
ed his full conviction and belief that Jehovah ex- 
isted and was supreme, for he presented, through 
Moses, to Jehovah his prayer, and as part thereof 
his promise. He prayed that Jehovah would abate 
the plague of hail ; and with the prayer, as king, 



196 Miracle and Science 

solemnly promised Moses and the Hebrews, " I will 
let you go " (Ex. 9 : 28). The promise was proof 
that Pharaoh knew that he could, and assumed 
that he would, emancipate the Hebrews, and was 
under no restraint that prevented, or could prevent, 
him from effectually decreeing their emancipation; 
and that evidence of Pharaoh refutes the conten- 
tion of the skeptics that Pharaoh was coerced, and 
not responsible for refusing freedom to the 
Hebrews. 

If it should be contended that this promise of 
Pharaoh was a lying promise, made to secure abate- 
ment of the plague of hail, there are several answers 
that would refute such contention. Jural science es- 
tablishes the maxim, that when a transaction is as 
consistent with honesty as with dishonesty, honesty 
must be presumed, and the presumption must be held 
to be the truth unless the evidence disproves the pre- 
sumption. 1 Here there is no evidence, not the least, 
to contradict the presumption that Pharaoh's pledge 
was candid, intelligent, and honest. On the con- 
trary, there is potent evidence to corroborate its 
honesty, intelligence, and candor. The promise 
went with, and was part of, Pharaoh's prayer to 
Jehovah. " Lying lips are an abomination to 
1 Chapman v. Mclllwrath, 77 Mo. 44. 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 197 

Jehovah," and he does not grant prayer to mendac- 
ity. But here Jehovah, who knew Pharaoh's heart 
and his candor, or hypocrisy if it existed, accepted 
that pledge of Pharaoh, and stopped the plague of 
hail. This is not all. After the plague of hail 
ceased, Pharaoh sinfully violated his kingly word, 
and refused to let the Hebrews go. He had sinned 
in his previous refusal to obey Jehovah, and here 
the record is, Pharaoh " sinned yet more " in 
violating his new promise to let the Hebrews go, 
and it is added again he " hardened his heart " 
(Ex. 9:34). Here, from triple sources, it was 
proved that Pharaoh was free and uncontrolled, 
knew his duty, but freely, and not coerced, dis- 
obeyed, and, with clear consciousness of guilty 
action, explicitly confessed his sin ; and the skeptics' 
contention to the contrary is proven unfounded 
and untrue. 

PLAGUE OF LOCUSTS 

At this point in the Exodus history as just cited, 
the record is, Pharaoh hardened his own heart 
(Ex. 9:34), and in that condition and with that 
effect, whatever it was on Pharaoh, a plague of 
locusts was proclaimed (Ex. 10). As we have 
heretofore seen, Pharaoh rejected the counsel and 
urgent plea of his servants to let the Hebrews go 



198 Miracle and Science 

(Ex. 10:7), and the plague came. When its 
horror and devastation destroying Egypt became 
unsupportable, " Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron 
in haste," and another interview was had. Here 
again Pharaoh knew, and he alone of all human 
beings knew, whether he had been free in his ac- 
tion, whether he was forced and could not act 
otherwise, and so was free from sin or culpability, 
as the skeptics contend. Pharaoh's testimony on 
that exact point is plain, clear, unequivocal, given 
not covertly in private, but to those opposed to him. 
He remembers the last interview, and his prayer 
to Jehovah, and his kingly promise to let the 
Hebrews go, and his base violation of a sovereign's 
word and honor, and remembers it with humilia- 
tion. He testified : " I have sinned against Jehovah 
your God, and against you. Now therefore for- 
give, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and entreat 
Jehovah your God, that he may take away from me 
this death only" (Ex. 10:16, 17). What was 
important on this question of Pharaoh's freedom 
of will, and absence of coercion, in his refusal to 
let the Hebrews go, and which we noticed and com- 
mented on in Pharaoh's testimony and confession 
in the transaction during the plague of hail, is 
duplicated here most clearly and distinctly. His 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 199 

testimony given here during the plague of locusts, 
when he had hardened his own heart, is again ex- 
plicit, full, and conclusive, proving that Pharaoh 
in this interview during the plague of locusts was 
free, not coerced, but intelligently wilful, stubborn, 
disobedient, and guilty. 

We have examined the evidence on the skeptics' 
contention, that God punished conduct that he him- 
self had caused. We have gone carefully, with some 
elaboration, through two important episodes of the 
Exodus, in each of which that contention of the 
skeptics was most conspicuously in question, and 
most fully brought into consideration; viz. (1) the 
episode of the plague of hail, and (2) the episode 
of the plague of locusts. We have seen that in 
each episode alike the evidence was ample, clear, 
explicit, uncontradicted, and conclusive, proving 
that Pharaoh, in refusing to let the Hebrews go, 
was free, not coerced ; that in that refusal he acted 
on his own responsibility, actuated by an abnormal 
wilfulness, pride, and obstinacy, and with con- 
scious guilt, which he openly and explicitly con- 
fessed over and over again. 

Moreover, immediately before the hail episode 
the record is, "J enovan hardened Pharaoh's heart," 
and that was Pharaoh's condition in the evidence 



200 Miracle and Science 

in that episode. Also immediately before the locust 
episode the record is, that Pharaoh " hardened 
his [own] heart," and that was Pharaoh's con- 
dition in that episode. But his condition disclosed 
by the evidence, his freedom, his conscious guilt 
in refusing to let the Hebrews go, his abstention 
from claiming that any one else was to blame but 
himself, in fact, all the testimony that confutes the 
said contention of the skeptics was the same, fully 
and completely so, when the record showed Jehovah 
hardened Pharaoh's heart, and when it showed 
Pharaoh hardened his own heart. There was no 
difference. The evidence of this sameness of the 
actual sense and meaning of the clauses of the 
hardening of Pharaoh's heart is a corroboration of 
the soundness and validity of the maxim on that 
subject, that when such clauses occur in different 
parts of a document, they must be taken to have 
been everywhere used in the same sense describing 
what is identical. 

The evidence not only fails to prove the skep- 
tics' contention, that God punished conduct which 
he had himself caused, but the evidence disproves 
the contention. It follows that the skeptics' charge 
that God is unrighteous, which is based on that 
unfounded and untrue contention of the skeptics, 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 201 

is also unfounded and untrue. It remains to con- 
sider what is the signification of " causing Pharaoh 
to stand," instead of the translation " hardening 
his heart," and its purposes and employment in the 
dispensation. 

FULL PROOF 

Suppose Pharaoh had freed the Hebrews when 
first commanded. We have seen, in previous sec- 
tions, the profound importance of the proof of the 
existence and supremacy of Jehovah, made by ob- 
jective evidence and preserved in the Exodus 
record. It is obvious, on the face of the matter, 
that that evidence would not have been produced, 
nor that proof established (and of course not pre- 
served), if Pharaoh had at once emancipated the 
Hebrews when commanded to. 

That is patent, for until denial of the existence 
and supremacy of Jehovah, and refusal to obey 
him, gave occasion for, and logically required, the 
production of that evidence, there would have been 
no development of the " issue " disclosing the real 
question in dispute, i. e. existence and supremacy 
of Jehovah, necessary and essential in order that all 
persons to be affected could intelligently appre- 
hend and apply the evidence to that issue, and thus 



202 Miracle and Science 

« 

the evidence be given due opportunity to produce 
its legitimate effect in establishing the truth. 

It was the original, defiant denial by Pharaoh of 
the existence and supremacy of Jehovah that made 
the evidence not only proper, but, as Jehovah 
planned the proceeding, indispensable. Yet, as will 
appear, it is the transaction found to be necessary 
for the full and thorough production of that evi- 
dence and proof which skeptics criticize as unright- 
eous. That will be next considered. 

JURAL MATTERS JUDGED BY JURAL STANDARDS 

Returning to the consideration of the principal 
issue here in question, we suggest, as hereinbefore 
noted, the evidence shows that Jehovah elected 
and determined not to use pestilence or entire 
destruction of the Egyptians, but chose to conquer 
Pharaoh's opposition and his refusal to free the 
Hebrews, and cure Pharaoh, the Egyptians, and 
the world of false conception of Deity, by employ- 
ing the methods, means, and rules of jurisprudence, 
treating Pharaoh as opponent in jural proceedings 
on the issue Pharaoh made by his denial, and over- 
coming Pharaoh's resistance, by producing and 
using the power of evidence, not only to cause 
Pharaoh to believe Jehovah existent and supreme, 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 203 

but to produce an array of evidence so full and 
indubitable that Pharaoh's belief should rise to 
clear, conclusive conviction — to knowledge — so 
that, as the record shows Jehovah repeatedly an- 
nounced, Pharaoh should thereby come to " know " 
Jehovah existent and supreme and must be obeyed, 
Pharaoh himself being judge (Deut. 32:31). 

Because the record shows Jehovah exercised a 
choice, and selected and employed the methods, 
principles, and procedure of jural science, in using 
the power of evidence, to operate in Pharaoh's 
mind, and so in and through Pharaoh accomplish 
a great purpose of Jehovah in the Exodus, that of 
proving his existence and supremacy, etc., — the 
acts and measures employed by Jehovah in those 
proceedings, logically and rationally, should be 
interpreted and judged by the standards, tests, and 
principles inherent in, and normally involved in, 
that science. 

The particular part of the record now to be 
especially subjected to examination consists of two 
passages — one addressed to Pharaoh, the other 
addressed to Moses, but, construed conjointly with 
the context, they declare Jehovah's purpose which 
he would accomplish by causing Pharaoh to stand, 
and give reasons for requiring Moses to preserve 



204 Miracle and Science 

the evidence and proof of Jehovah's existence and 
supremacy, not only for future generations of 
Hebrews, but so that that evidence and proof 
might be promulgated throughout all the earth. 
To Pharaoh: 

" In very deed for this cause have I made thee to 
stand, to show thee my power ; and that my name x 
may be declared throughout all the earth" (Ex. 
9:16, Am. Rev.). 

To Moses: 

" I have hardened [strengthened] his [Pharaoh's] 
heart, and the hearts of his servants, that I may 
show these my signs [miracles] in the midst of 
them; and that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy 
son, and of thy son's son, what things I have 
wrought upon Egypt, and my signs [miracles] 
which I have done among them ; that ye may know 
that I am Jehovah " (Ex. 10 : 1, 2, Am. Rev.). 

We have here the testimony of Jehovah that 

what he did in regard to Pharaoh, described in old 

versions as "hardening," "strengthening" (Am. 

Rev.), was causing Pharaoh "to stand." That is 

the record. What Jehovah so did, is what skeptics 

criticize as unrighteous (Ex. 4:21, Am. Rev. 

marg). 

'Name when designating Jehovah in the Old Testa- 
ment is used in the sense of his revealed character and 
essence (Jer. 44:26; Ps. 8:1; Ex. 23:21). 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 205 

PRESUMPTION OF RIGHT IN JURISPRUDENCE 

It is proper to notice the presumption of juris- 
prudence on this subject. The maxim of jurispru- 
dence applicable here is : " Omnia praesummuntur 
rite et solemnitur esse acta." The law presumes 
that every one in his official capacity, and especial- 
ly when acting judicially, acts within his duty 
unless the contrary is shown; and that all things 
done by such person in his judicial capacity are 
rightly done. 1 The presumption prevails in regard 
to human magistrates, and the presumption cannot 
be less potent because the decision in question was 
made by Jehovah, the Judge of all the earth. But 
besides the presumption, examining the question 
on its merits, by rules of jurisprudence, there seems 
to be, in the situation and conditions, substantial 
ground for concluding that the proof furnished by 
the further and last miracle evidence was necessary 
to complete the proof of Jehovah's existence and 
supremacy. 

MEANING AND USE OF PHRASE " TO STAND"" 

If we ascertain what the phrase " to stand " 

means when juridically applied to Pharaoh, in 

1 Bank of U. S. v. Dandridge, 12 Wheat. 66-70, Story, 
J. See also 20 Wall 250 ; 18 F. R. 36 ; 4 Hughes, 519. 



206 Miracle and Science 

connection with the situation, we shall have essen- 
tial means for reaching a just decision regarding 
the skeptics' contention. The Hebrew word is, 
amad, literally, "to cause to stand still" (Job 
37:14), "to stand fast' 1 (Ps. 33:9, 11),, "to 
stand firm" (Josh. 3:17). Persistence, continu- 
ance, are elemental in the Hebrew, rendered in 
English by the phrase " to stand." 

This, also, is its meaning ascertained from the 
context, and especially from the reasons and the 
purposes for which Pharaoh was caused to stand. 
Briefly and specially, Pharaoh was made to stand, 
in order that proof of Jehovah's existence and 
supremacy might be indubitably proved, preserved, 
and promulgated. We have seen that, if Pharaoh 
had freed the Hebrews at once when commanded, 
that proof would not have been called for, given, 
or made. But Pharaoh's denial and refusal raised 
the " issue," and both required and gave oppor- 
tunity for producing that evidence, and establish- 
ing that proof. 

Necessarily inherent in the conclusion and judg- 
ment of Jehovah, that he would cause Pharaoh 
to stand, was the cognate conclusion of Jehovah, 
that, in his judgment, it was necessary that Pha- 
raoh should continue to stand to the issues he had 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 207 

made by his denials, in order that Jehovah's evi- 
dence proving those great facts in dispute could be 
fully produced, and the proof of those great facts 
be fully established. 

Proof of those great facts in such form that the 
proof could be preserved, recorded, and published 
throughout all the earth, was the expressly declared 
purpose of Jehovah, in causing Pharaoh to stand. 

WHAT IS PROOF 

But it is important that a just apprehension of 
what " proof " is, should be kept in mind in this 
connection. When a proposition is affirmed by one 
party and denied by an opponent, it creates an 
issue as to what is the truth of the disputed propo- 
sition. The issue is a statement plainly denning the 
dispute regarding the proposition. Hence the issue 
necessarily fixes and controls what shall be evidence, 
because that only which is relevant to the dispute 
stated by the issue regarding the proposition and 
contention can be evidence. The issue therefore 
furnishes each party the means — the instrumen- 
tality — by and through which the power of his 
evidence relevant to the particular proposition de- 
scribed by the issue may be produced, and by which 
his evidence can exert its power, and produce belief, 



208 Miracle and Science 

assurance, and, if sufficient, may produce conclusive 
conviction, knowledge, of the verity of the contested 
proposition. In no other way or method can what 
is offered as evidence be rationally controlled, held 
to its just and normal function of relevancy, to the 
particular disputed proposition, and so operate le- 
gitimately to assist in getting at the truth of the 
proposition in controversy. 

In short, the issue is the indispensable means re- 
quired for ascertaining and establishing by evidence 
the truth of contested questions. This is so tested 
by the rules, principles, and standards of jural sci- 
ence. This conclusion seems also to have the clear 
sanction of the Master in proving his divinity in 
dealing with the palsied man at Capernaum, stated 
in a previous chapter. 

" Proof " cannot be truly ascribed to any propo- 
sition or alleged fact, unless and until its truth has 
been contested expressly or impliedly — its truth 
put in issue, and it has passed through the ordeal of 
contested trial, and has been shown by the evidence 
to be true, all opposition to the contrary notwith- 
standing. When that assured verity of the con- 
tested proposition is produced by the power of 
evidence, the proposition is proved. The result of 
the trial becomes " proof." In jurisprudence it is 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 209 

called verdict, vere dictum, " said by the truth," x 
verity declared. And, be it remembered, Jehovah's 
expressly declared purpose, in the evidence at the 
Exodus, was to make indubitable proof of his ex- 
istence and supremacy, to be preserved for all gen- 
erations, and promulgated throughout all the earth. 

FURTHER EVIDENCE 

The issue raised by skeptics regarding the right- 
eousness of Jehovah, which we are now considering, 
reaches back to the beginning of Jehovah's dealing 
with the Egyptian king, when Jehovah as Supreme 
Sovereign, through Moses, required Pharaoh to 
emancipate the Hebrew slaves. Pharaoh then de- 
nied Jehovah and his supremacy, and on the issue 
thus made took his stand, and made it the ground 
for refusing to free the Hebrews. While Pharaoh 
maintained that stand, his refusal to free the He- 
brews continued as the logical sequence. Cor- 
relatively, Pharaoh's refusal to free the Hebrews 
constituted logically Pharaoh's tacit assertion that 
he continued to stand to his denials of the existence 
and of the supremacy of Jehovah in the issue he 
had thus made. The record shows that Jehovah 
declared, again and again, he would use the issue 
1 Anderson, Law Dictionary, p. 1088 n. b. 



210 Miracle and Science 

as the means by which his miracle evidence should 
be produced, until it should cause Pharaoh, not 
only to believe, but to " know/' Jehovah existed and 
was supreme in all the earth. 

Examining seven consecutive principal instances 
of miracles Jehovah wrought and produced as his 
evidence of his existence to Pharaoh, we find of 
(1) the harmless miracle of changing Moses' rod 
to a serpent, with its associated miracles, the rec- 
ord is: Pharaoh "hearkened not" (Ex. 7:13), 
stood to the issue he had made; of (2) waters of 
Egypt made blood, the record regarding Pharaoh 
is, "Neither did he lay even this to heart" (Ex, 
7:23), stood his ground; of (3) miracle of frogs 
and of their removal, the record is, Pharaoh " hard- 
ened his [own] heart, and hearkened not" (Ex. 
8: 15), continued to stand to his contention in the 
issue; of (4) miracle of lice, the record is, Pha- 
raoh's heart was hardened (no agent causing it 
named), but Pharaoh "hearkened not" (Ex. 8: 
19), stood to his denial and refusal; of (5) miracle 
of pest of flies and removing them, the record is, 
" Pharaoh hardened his [own] heart this time also, 
and he did not let the people go " (Ex. 8 : 32), but 
stood to his contention; of (6) miracle of murrain 
upon beasts, the record is, " The heart of Pharaoh 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 211 

was stubborn [no agent named], and he did not let 
the people go " ( Ex. 9:7), stood to his refusal ; and 
of (7) miracle of boils upon man and beast, the 
record for the first time is, " Jehovah hardened 
[strengthened] the heart of Pharaoh, and he heark- 
ened not," i.e. continued to stand to his contention, 
and so continued the issue, and continued the office, 
function, and use of the issue, for the production by 
either party of further evidence of the facts in- 
volved. The record shows that, after the harmless 
but distinct miracles changing Moses' rod to a ser- 
pent, etc., had been wrought, clear evidence of the 
existence of Jehovah, Pharaoh determined to stand 
by his denials in the issue, and that stand Pharaoh 
continued to insist upon, without any evidence, in 
the record, of active agency of Jehovah in causing 
Pharaoh to stand to it — but ample evidence that 
Pharaoh strengthened his own firmness to stand, 
until after Jehovah's evidence by miracle of boils 
upon man and beast had been announced. 

Causing Pharaoh to stand was holding him to 
continuing the issue Pharaoh had made by his de- 
nial of the existence and supremacy of Jehovah, 
until Jehovah should fully produce his evidence, for 
that was the declared purpose for which Pharaoh 
was caused to stand. Those denials, and the issue 



212 Miracle and Science 

Pharaoh made, judicially considered, constituted a 
challenge addressed to Jehovah by Pharaoh to 
prove his asserted existence and supremacy. 

party's right to make full proof ■ 
If the evidence of Jehovah relevant to the issue 
had not been all fully produced, if he deemed it 
necessary to produce further evidence on that issue, 
more potent, more conclusive, which should pro- 
duce intelligent conviction and knowledge, then, ju- 
dicially considered, Jehovah, as contestant in that 
issue made by Pharaoh, had the right of every con- 
testant in such proceedings, to have the issue which 
provided the opportunity for producing such ad- 
ditional evidence continued for that purpose until 
all his evidence should be produced. Causing Pha- 
raoh to stand to his contention, and hence to secure 
continuance of the issue he had made, was in fact, 
and judicially considered, exercise of the right of 
holding an opponent to his challenge to Jehovah to 
make full proof of that existence and supremacy, a 
right which, by the rules of jurisprudence, every 
party to the issue has strict right to, and of which 
his opponent cannot, against his consent, deprive 
him. 

If the standard which Christ announced, that 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 213 

" no man, having put his hand to the plow, and 
looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God " (Luke 
9 : 62) is right, can it be justly held that one having 
put His hand to the plow to accomplish a great 
and good work is unrighteous in insisting on the 
right to hold the plow to its work until the task is 
fully completed ? Clearly not. But it is the record 
of such act of Jehovah in so insisting on making 
full proof of his character, and name, and universal 
supremacy, that is the subject of the skeptics' crit- 
icisms. 

Not until after the long series of miracles up to 
and including the plague of boils is it recorded Je- 
hovah expressly caused or insisted that Pharaoh 
should stand to the issue he had made. The record 
shows that at that time Jehovah's purpose was to 
produce additional miracles, as his evidence, which 
should transcend any and all that had theretofore 
been produced. 

JEHOVAH SUPREME IN ALL THE EARTH 

We have heretofore noticed the vast importance 
to men of the " proof " of those supreme facts, ex- 
istence and supremacy of Jehovah. Inherent in 
Jehovah's decision to cause Pharaoh to stand to the 
issue he had made is the correlative decision of Je- 



214 Miracle and Science 

hovah, that in his judgment the further proof he 
would make by his evidence, of his existence and 
supremacy, its preservation and promulgation, were 
of such value and importance to the human race, 
that they required and warranted such proceedings 
as should secure the continuance, in that manner, 
of the " issue " Pharaoh had himself caused, until 
Jehovah's evidence, in judicial phrase, was " full- 
proof" that is, evidence which satisfies the mind of 
the truth of the fact in dispute, to the exclusion of 
every reasonable doubt. 1 

THE NEW EVIDENCE 

Our conception of Jehovah, " the only true God," 
is so a part of our thought in these days, and we 
are so unconsciously dominated by that conception, 
that we are in a sense embarrassed in dealing with 
the conception of Deity in the thought of men in 
Egypt and the world at the date of the Exodus. To 
fit ourselves to appreciate and deal with the condi- 
tions caused by that conception, we must get, and 
hold in mind, that conception in the viewpoint of 
Pharaoh and the men of that time. Their concep- 
tion of deity was, that the gods of Egypt and other 
nations were beings who could operate with and 
1 Kane v. Ind. Co. 38 N. J. L. 450 ; Starkie on Ev. 817. 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 215 

through water, air, lightning, natural forces and 
secondary agencies generally; that, by their power 
over natural forces and such agencies, the gods 
of their conception could work good or evil to 
men; could, if strong enough, defend their votaries 
against such evil when attempted to be inflicted 
through such agencies by gods of foreign nations. 
After the nine and more miracles, and before the 
final one, Jehovah, to their conception, was only and 
merely one of the multitude of gods distributed 
among, and believed in by, the nations of the earth. 
Jehovah after he had proved his existence was to 
them and the race of mankind merely such a god, 
merely the special god of the Hebrews. To tell the 
Egyptians or their contemporaries that Jehovah was 
" the only true God " would be to offer them a con- 
ception which they could not comprehend or take 
into their minds ; as the apostles could not take in or 
bear truths Jesus desired to tell them the last night 
before his crucifixion, but did not because he de- 
clared to them, " Ye cannot bear them now." The 
Egyptians and the race at the time of the Exodus 
could not learn that truth by words. But they 
could be made to learn the absolute supremacy of 
Jehovah by mighty object-lessons, such as they 
could apprehend and comprehend, could not evade 



216 Miracle and Science 

or ignore, miracle evidence forced on their unwill- 
ing attention. But it required a greater lesson than 
any of all the lessons previously given to the Egyp- 
tians, by which Jehovah had shown the Egyptians 
he existed and was supreme, superior to the gods 
of Egypt. The knowledge of that supremacy the 
Egyptians had attained, but they had not yet learned 
that Jehovah was other than one of the many gods 
of their conception, the conceptions of men of their 
time, which have already been described. To their 
minds, Jehovah wrought miracles only as they con- 
ceived each of the multitude of gods of the na- 
tions, as they apprehended gods, wrought by and 
through some intermediate means, natural forces, 
or secondary agencies, as a rod, water, frogs, lice, 
insects, diseases, hail, lightning, darkness. Jehovah, 
in the conception of Pharaoh and the Egyptians, 
had thus proved that his miracle power was supe- 
rior to that of the gods of Egypt. The gods of 
Egypt could not defend the Egyptians from the 
miracle plagues Jehovah inflicted on them. Only 
as such gods, Jehovah, the god of the Hebrews, as 
they believed, had executed judgment against the 
gods of Egypt in an actual contention and test, pub- 
licly made. That great lesson they had learned 
under severe compulsion. 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 217 

FURTHER EVIDENCE ESSENTIAL 

But the question remained, Was Jehovah supe- 
rior to the gods of other nations and peoples ? Was 
he superior to the gods of Chaldea, gods of Meso- 
potamia, gods of Babylon; of Hamath, of Arpad, 
of Sepharvaim, of Canaan, etc. ? 

Could the Egyptians, and the then degenerate 
race of mankind, be taught by Jehovah's object- 
lesson — miracle evidence that Jehovah was su- 
preme or superior to all gods or conceptions of 
gods, of all nations of all the earth, as conceptions 
of such gods existed in the minds of the race — 
without entering into actual contest, before and 
with all the nations, as to superiority over their 
gods, and executing judgment against all gods of 
all nations — all successively, one after another, 
seriatim, as Jehovah had done with the Egyptians 
and their alleged gods? Unless that could be done 
by further miracle lesson and evidence, the evidence 
of the absolute supremacy of Jehovah would be in- 
complete, his universal supremacy unproved. If 
that incomplete proof of Jehovah's supremacy was 
to be completed by a further miracle lesson and evi- 
dence, obviously the new evidence must differ rad- 
ically, in its evidentiary force, from the former, the 
many that preceded. To furnish men of that time 



218 Miracle and Science 

evidence to prove the absolute supremacy of Jeho- 
vah in all the earth, the force of the miracle evi- 
dence ought to be probative of supreme attributes 
of Deity — Omnipresence, Omniscience, and Omni- 
potence. In the judgment of right reason it should 
be -wrought in scale and magnitude, comprehensive- 
ness and character, commensurate with the object 
to be proved, i.e. that Jehovah was supreme " in all 
the earth," in fact "greater than all gods" (Ex. 
18:11); "none else" (Deut. 4:39). 

COMPLETION OF PROOF 

The record shows that the final miracle lesson to 
the Egyptians, destroying the first-born, contem- 
plated especially as evidence, was wrought to com- 
plete the evidence that should establish proof of 
Jehovah's universal supremacy " in all the earth," 
and his supreme attributes (Ex. 9:14). As evi- 
dence it was to complete the proofs. Jehovah an- 
nounced the judgment he would execute upon the 
Egyptians ; literally rendered, as above stated, " One 
smiting will I bring upon Pharaoh and upon 
Egypt" (Ex. 11.1). It was to be, in magnitude, 
comprehensiveness, and probative potency, proof of 
the supreme attributes of his character. Jehovah de- 
clared that at a midnight hour his fiat should 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 219 

" go out into the midst of Egypt ; and all the first- 
born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first- 
born of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even 
unto the first-born of the maid-servant that is be- 
hind the mill; and all the first-born of cattle " (Ex. 
11:4, 5). 

This was done, and the final miracle evidence 
and lesson was effectual, as predicted. Thereby 
the entire Egyptian people, the dwellers in every 
house in the realm, had immediate, direct, and per- 
sonal evidence, and were brought to know Jehovah 
existing, sovereign and supreme. This miracle em- 
braced dealing with 10,000,000 people, Egyptians 
and Hebrews, and all the cattle of a great empire. 
Pharaoh and his entire nation learned and knew 
Jehovah supreme; for, as predicted, 

" at midnight .... Jehovah smote all the first- 
born in the land of Egypt. From the first-born of 
Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the first-born 
of the captive in the dungeon ; and all the first-born 
of cattle. And [1] Pharaoh rose up in the night, 
he, and [2] all his servants, and [3] all the Egyp- 
tians ; and there was a great cry in Egypt ; for there 
was not a house where there was not one dead " 
(Ex. 12:29, 30). 

At midnight, not waiting for the morning, Pharaoh 
and the Egyptians sought Moses and Aaron, and 



220 Miracle and Science 

were urgent upon the Hebrews to send them out of 
the land in haste. 

CONTRASTED PROBATIVE FORCE OF FINAL MIRACLE 

The difference, the contrast, between the proba- 
tive force of this miracle evidence lesson and the 
former nine and more, in manifesting Jehovah to 
men, was radical, fundamental, in execution, in 
character, in scope, and in corresponding purpose 
and effect. Here, in the final lesson and testimony, 
there was nothing of rods, water, frogs, dust, lice, 
locusts, flies, disease, murrain, boils, lightning, hail, 
thunder, darkness, or any intermediate agency. The 
power that wrought was the fiat, the silent will, of 
Jehovah. His fiat wrought directly and independ- 
ently of physical cause or weapon, absolutely inde- 
pendent of all intermediaries whatsoever. None of 
these had any place or function in that miracle — 
nothing but fiat alone. Fiat and death were con- 
temporal, simultaneous in issue and operation. The 
power manifested was unrestricted, unlimited, in 
short Omnipotent. The lesson exhibited God in 
the great essentials of his being — Omniscience, 
Omnipotence, and Omnipresence. 

Consider the evidentiary force of this miracle in 
proving the unlimited knowledge, omniscience, of 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 221 

Jehovah. The miracle was not to be, and was not 
wrought, upon persons or beasts theretofore spe- 
cifically ascertained and labeled, but upon the un- 
published, unidentified first-born of millions of men 
and of unnumbered millions of cattle, the millions 
of both scattered indiscriminately throughout a vast 
empire. What higher or more conclusive objective 
evidence could be given to, or understood by, men, 
to show Jehovah supreme in knowledge, than that 
shown by knowledge, singling out throughout all 
those millions of human beings, and millions of cat- 
tle, without identifying evidence to point out the 
specific individuals, but silently singling out with 
unerring accuracy the first-born of all those uniden- 
tified millions, and affecting no others whatsoever. 
Midnight darkness had no obscuring effect upon 
the Omniscience of Jehovah. The Egyptians were 
taught, and knew, that " the darkness and the light 
were both alike to him." 

What higher or more convincing objective evi- 
dence would be given to, or comprehended by, men, 
to show supremacy of Jehovah, omnipresent in 
activity, than that at a designated point of time, a 
designated midnight hour, instantly, Jehovah was 
so actively present in every house and field in the 
whole realm of Egypt, that his fiat at once every- 



222 Miracle and Science 

where, simultaneously, singled out and destroyed 
each first-born of man and beast ; and there was not 
a house or a field where that omnipresent activity 
of Jehovah did not at that midnight instant operate. 
These proofs were made. The probative potency 
of that miracle reached to the highest that could be 
given by actual objective demonstration to men, or 
which men could comprehend, to prove the fact of 
the omnipotency and supremacy of Jehovah. The 
final evidence, under the continued issue in proba- 
tive force, reached to and established express at- 
tributes " of the only true God," supreme in power, 
supreme in intelligence, and supreme in omnipres- 
ent activity and energy, and completed the proof of 
that supremacy — evidence that had not been fully 
given before ; proof that before was incomplete. 

THE JUDGMENT 

The Hebrews were to be emancipated in the Ex- 
odus epoch. That deliverance was accomplished by 
God's judgment destroying the first-born of Egypt 
in punishment for their guilty oppression of Abra- 
ham's seed. 

Judgment rendered to accomplish one specific 
important purpose cannot be executed (it may 
safely be affirmed) without in fact incidentally af- 



Miracle and Doctrine — Jehovah 223 

fecting seriously other matters, persons, and inter- 
ests than the single purpose it was rendered to 
accomplish. A judgment condemning a malefactor 
to the gallows is rendered for the single purpose of 
punishing a criminal, in vindication of law and jus- 
tice. Penalty of death adjudged against a male- 
factor for his crime operates incidentally to make 
his wife a widow and his children orphans. 
While, as the record shows, the primary, direct, 
and fundamental purpose of the judgment de- 
stroying the first-born of the Egyptians was 
performance of God's covenant with Abraham 
to judge and punish that nation for their crimes 
against Abraham's descendants, another purpose, 
disclosed by the record, was to fully prove 
his existence and universal supremacy, and cause 
his name to be declared in all the earth. Also, 
God contemplated, as the further incidental result 
of that judgment, the emancipation of the Hebrews ; 
for so that result is described. It is not named, 
either in Genesis or Exodus or in Acts, as a pri- 
mary purpose of that judgment, but in each in- 
stance merely and solely incidental. The judgment 
is specially named in four passages, and, in regard 
to the Hebrews and Pharaoh, the remark is added 
as follows: Gen. 15: 14 (God speaking) : "After- 



224 Miracle and Science 

zvard shall they come out"; Ex. 3: 20 (God speak- 
ing) : "After that he will let you go " ; Ex. 11 :1 
(God speaking) : "Afterwards he will let you go " ; 
Acts 7: 7 (Stephen's report, God speaking) : "After 
that shall they come forth!' This linguistic identity 
in describing that very important incidental result 
deserves notice, because it is potent evidence to prove 
that the four records describe one and the same 
identical judgment, namely, that of destroying the 
first-born of Egypt, in punishment for the crimes 
perpetrated on the Hebrews before the Exodus era, 
and in performance of God's covenant therefor 
with Abraham. The fact that an important inci- 
dental effect — emancipation of the Hebrews — re- 
sulted from the execution of that judgment of God 
did not change its character, or deprive it from be- 
ing God's performance of his covenant with Abra- 
ham, nor from its being punishment of the guilty 
Egyptians for their criminal oppression of the He- 
brews. It was not punishment inflicted for an act 
God had himself caused ; and that contention of the 
skeptics is shown to be unfounded and untrue, and 
their charge that God is unrighteous, based on that 
unfounded and untrue contention, is also unfounded 
and untrue. 



CHAPTER VII 

MIRACLE INTEGRAL AND CONSTITUENT 

IN GOD'S ECONOMY OF GRACE 

AND REVELATION 

"David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord 
always before my face. . . . Therefore did my heart re- 
joice. . . . Because thou wilt not leave my soul in Hades, 
neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corrup- 
tion. . . . Therefore being a prophet .... He foreseeing 
this spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was 
not left in Hades, neither his flesh did see corruption. 
This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are wit- 
nesses." Acts 2 : 25-32. 

Section I 

SCOPE OF INQUIRY 

The doctrine stated at the head of this chapter 
has been, through the ages, a fundamental doctrine 
of believers in the Bible as the Word of God. But 
for some time, especially since the doctrines of nat- 
ural Evolution and destructive Higher Criticism 
have invaded theology, denying the supernatural in 
the Bible, many professing Christians and many in 
the ministry and educational work have attempted 
to adapt and yoke together such evolution and criti- 
cism in concord with Christianity. Consequently 



226 Miracle and Science 

the doctrine that miracle is integral and constituent 
in the Christian dispensation has been denied, dis- 
believed, or ceased to have place in the faith of 
many in the ministry and educational work, with a 
consequent disastrous following among the laity. 

In the very nature of things, such attempts at 
yoking discordant elements in religion were fore- 
doomed to disaster. The Bible comes to men as 
evidence, and from Genesis to Revelation the super- 
natural is intrinsic in it. The supernatural is in 
organic combination with its contents, and cannot 
be irrupted from the Bible record without destroy- 
ing it. Furthermore the supernatural is set forth 
by the Bible writers, not as what is casual or inci- 
dental, but as what is paramount, and is asserted as 
that of which they are certain, that of which they 
are not and cannot be mistaken. On fundamental 
principles of right the supernatural cannot be 
struck out of the Bible as false without altogether 
destroying the evidence the Bible brings to our race. 
This is the verdict of the science of jurisprudence. 
Judge Story,' in rendering the judgment of the full 
bench of the Supreme Court of our nation in an 
important case, expounded and applied the doctrine 
that witnesses who testify falsely as to important 
matters they distinctly assert as true cannot be 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 227 

believed as to the remainder of their testimony. 
That eminent jurist said: 

" When the party speaks to a fact in respect to 
which he cannot be presumed to be liable to mis- 
take .... if the fact turn out otherwise .... courts 
of justice under such circumstances are bound upon 
principles of law and morality and justice to apply 
the maxim falsus in uno, falsibus in omnibus. 
What ground of judicial belief can there be left 
when the party has shown such gross insensibility 
to the difference between right and wrong, between 
truth and falsehood ? " 1 

As an emphatic illustration, if John's testimony 
of the miracle of raising Lazarus from death to life 
is false, the falsity utterly impeaches John, and cre- 
dence cannot be given with faith to any testimony 
he gives on any subject; and so of every writer 
throughout the record. 

That miracle is integral is basic in the Christian 
religion. The conditions described justify a careful 
and thorough reexamination of the ground and 
foundations of the doctrine, by the best possible 
method, to ascertain, on firm, rational grounds, 
whether the denial or disbelief in the doctrine is 
justified. The examination will require patience 
and careful scrutiny of the first principles, and may 
lr The Santissima Trinidad, 7 Wheat. 337. 



228 Miracle and Science 

seem minute. But thoroughness in applying the 
scientific method is essential as much for detail as 
in the general scope of the inquiry, if assured re- 
sults are to be attained. 

What has already been stated has, indirectly at 
least, profound bearing in sustaining the doctrine. 
Now we propose to make the inquiry as to the doc- 
trine direct and express. As a means of testing the 
truth of the doctrine that miracle is integral and 
constituent in God's economy of grace and revela- 
tion, the question may be asked, Could the Christian 
religion have been established without miracle? 
That would seem to be a supreme test. The evi- 
dence and reasoning may be considered in answer- 
ing that question. 

RESURRECTION OF JESUS, TEST AND PROOF OF 
DOCTRINE 

The miracle of the resurrection of Jesus, in 
connection with Christ's prophecy regarding his 
Church and the Gates of Hell, may be taken as the 
base of the inquiry. Theodore Keim, a German 
theologian, originally disposed to discredit the su- 
pernatural in religion, after the most comprehen- 
sive examination of the matter, concludes that, with- 
out the miracle of the resurrection of Jesus, " faith 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 229 

in him as the Messiah would have vanished, the 
disciples would have gone back to Judaism and the 
synagogue, and the words of Jesus would have 
been buried in the sands of oblivion." x The state- 
ment of Keim, reduced to a proposition, is : With- 
out the miracle of the resurrection of Jesus, Chris- 
tianity would not have survived his death on the 
cross. 

That conclusion seems to be the conclusion also 
of the commentators. But the marvelous force of 
what is involved in the proposition, i.e. showing 
miracle integral and constituent in the Christian 
religion, can be appreciated only by careful atten- 
tion to all the evidence, conditions, and reasons that 
show the proposition true. Therefore we propose 
(instead of merely reasoning the subject) to pre- 
sent the matter to readers as jurors, and examine 

1 Theodore Keim, Der geschichtliche Christus (1866), 
vol. iii. p. 605. Dr. Fisher in his work Grounds of The- 
istic and Christian Belief, commenting on the above, 
says: "The admission of a miracle is fairly extorted 
from this writer by the untenableness of any other so- 
lution that can be thought of. At the end of a work 
which is largely taken up with attempts direct or in- 
direct to disprove supernatural agency, Keim finds him- 
self driven by sheer pressure of the evidence to assert 
its reality, and to maintain that the very survival of 
Christianity in the world after the death of Jesus de- 
pended on it" (p. 174). 



230 Miracle and Science 

by the rules of the science of jurisprudence the 
evidence and conditions connected with the tran- 
scendent miracle of the resurrection of Jesus as 
wrought in confirmation of a prophecy and pledge 
of Jesus, made in contemplation of the tragedy of 
the' cross. When that evidence is presented to 
readers as it should be to a juror, the reader can 
realize the truth of the proposition of Mr. Keim, 
and the fact that miracle is integral and constituent 
in the Christian dispensation, as he can in no other 
way. The importance of the doctrine seems to jus- 
tify the labor. The prophecy and pledge were given 
when Peter made the great confession : " Thou 
art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matt. 
16: 16).- Jesus announced that on that rock truth 1 
he would build his Church, and added the prophetic 
revelation : "And the gates of hell shall not prevail 
against it" (Matt. 16:18). 

GATES OF HELL — SATAN 

The meaning of the figurative language used by 
the Master in describing enemies of righteousness 
as the Gates of Hell, whose Satanic assault upon 

1 Matt. 16 : 18 ; Isa. 28 : 16 ; Ps. 118 : 22, 23 as quoted 
by Jesus, Matt. 21 : 42 ; Paul, 1 Cor. 3 : 11, and E'ph. 
2:20, 22. 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 231 

his Church should not prevail, is well stated by 
Professor Bush in his work on Genesis : 

"[Gates,] the place of public convocation, where 
the citizens assembled to deliberate upon matters 
of general interest, correspond to halls, council- 
chambers, or town-houses of modern times. When, 
therefore, our Saviour says that the gates of hell 
shall not prevail against his church, his meaning is, 
that the counsels, plots, and policies of hell shall 
not prevail against it ; employing a figure of speech 
by which the place of counsel stands for the coun- 
sels themselves." x 

We shall not attain, however, a full conception 
of the Gates of Hell unless we include in the con- 
cept the instigator of all malignant assaults against 
the Church of Christ, the Devil, — not demons, 
but the Devil, the great enemy of God and man 
(1 Pet. 5:8), who tempted Jesus and incites men 
to sin (Matt. 4:1; John 13 : 2 ; Eph. 4 : 27) ; who, as 
Christ teaches, when the good seed of truth is sown 
steals it away (Luke 8:12), or sows tares (Matt. 
13:39), lays snares or practises wiles to injure the 
children of God (Eph. 6:11; 2 Tim. 2:26), and 
seduces them by his subtilty (2 Cor. 11: 3). 

The Gates of Hell made their deadly assault 
upon the Church of Christ by compassing the 
x Bush, Notes on Genesis, vol. ii. p. 195. 



232 Miracle and Science 

death, on the cross, of Jesus, its Head, Foundation, 
and Founder. This was prophesied a thousand 
years before by David, as told by Peter, under in- 
spiration of the Holy Spirit, on the day of Pente- 
cost. Quoting from the second Psalm, " Why do 
the heathen rage [marg. " tumultously assemble "], 
and the people meditate a vain thing? The kings 
of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take 
counsel together, against Jehovah, and against his 
anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asun- 
der, and cast away their cords from us" (Ps. 2: 
1-3), Peter's inspired comment was, "For of a 
truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast 
anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the 
Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered to- 
gether " (Acts 4: 27). That was the assault of the 
Gates of Hell upon the Church of Christ which put 
the very existence of the Church in jeopardy at that 
time. We are now to examine the evidence, to as- 
certain what the situation was that placed the 
Church of Christ in peril so deadly that the miracle 
of the resurrection of Jesus was required to save it. 

THE CHURCH OF CHRIST 

The unique purpose and work of the Church of 
Christ is to save men — to build a kingdom of 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 233 

saved men to be therein taught, trained, and dis- 
ciplined by the teaching of the Master and the Holy 
Spirit, to be fitted for and intrusted with the human 
part of making and maintaining his Church to be 
organized by and with saved men as its human con- 
stituents. The Church was to be an aid and instru- 
ment in executing Christ's great commission; in 
making disciples of all nations and inducting them 
into that Church, baptizing them into the name of 
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, 
teaching them to observe all things whatsoever the 
Master commanded. With the command Jesus 
promised, " I am with you alway, even unto the 
end of the world" (Matt. 28:19, 20). Obviously 
it was of vital importance that the individuals con- 
stituting the Church of Christ should have and act 
on a radically true and adequate estimate and ap- 
prehension of Christ, the Founder and Foundation 
of the Church, and his gospel mission, and a like, 
true and adequate estimate and apprehension of the 
kingdom of Christ of saved men, to establish which 
was the paramount and ultimate purpose of the 
Church of Christ. 



234 Miracle and Science 

Section II 

APOSTLES' CONCEPTION OF JESUS BEFORE HIS 
CRUCIFIXION 

Knowledge of the estimate and apprehension 
which the apostles actually attained of Jesus and 
his mission, which dominated and controlled them, 
as well as knowledge of the actual ground of their 
faith in and adhesion to Jesus until his death on the 
cross, are essential to an understanding of the peril 
of the Church from the assault of the Gates of Hell. 

At the advent of Jesus, and for nearly a millen- 
nium before, the uniform, the universal conception of 
Christ, held with lively hope and anxious anticipa- 
tion by the Jews (and it appears also by other peo- 
ples not Jews), was that Messiah would come, and, 
when he came, would be king and have a kingdom. 
That conception and cherished belief dominated the 
minds and hearts of the disciples and apostles. 
This their Sacred Scriptures abundantly justified. 1 
From outside of Judaea and outside of the Jewish 
nation, at the birth of Jesus, it is recorded that, 

" Wise-men from the east came to Jerusalem, say- 
ing, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for 

x Ps. 2:6, 7; 45:1-7; 89:27-36; Isa. 9:2, 6, 7; Jer. 
23 :5-8 ; Zech. 9 :9 ; see also by citation of Old Testa- 
ment, Matt. 21:5; Luke 19:38; John 12:15. 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 235 

we saw his star in the east, and are come to wor- 
ship him. . . . And they came into the house and 
saw the young child with Mary his mother; and 
they fell down and worshipped him; and opening 
their treasures they offered him gifts, gold and 
frankincense and myrrh" (Matt. 2:1, 2, 11, Am. 
Rev.). 

These were appropriate offerings for royal person- 
ages. When convinced, by the testimony of Andrew 
and Philip and a brief interview with Jesus, that he 
was the Messiah, Nathanael immediately expressed 
the common conviction of his race, that Christ when 
he came would be ipso facto king, by saying, " Rab- 
bi, thou art the Son of God; thou art King of Is- 
rael " (John 1 : 49, Am. Rev.). 

The evidence in the record is ample to produce 
the belief that the Messiah should not be merely 
king in name and honor, but that he should have 
and rule in fact a kingdom. Centuries before John 
the Baptist announced the advent of Messiah, God 
had revealed and assured, and Daniel had prophe- 
sied, that at a future time the " God of heaven " 
would set up a kingdom ; hence, a " kingdom of 
God " or a " kingdom of heaven." Daniel's prophecy 
further was, that that kingdom "shall never be de- 
stroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to 



236 Miracle and Science 

another people ; but it shall break in pieces and con- 
sume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for- 
ever " (Dan. 2:44, Am. Rev.). Also: 

" Behold, one like the Son of man came with the 
clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, 
and they brought him near before him. And there 
was given him dominion, and glory, and a king- 
dom, that all people, nations, and languages should 
serve him ; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, 
which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that 
which shall not be destroyed. . . . And the kingdom 
and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom 
under the whole heaven, shall be given to the peo- 
ple of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom 
is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall 
serve and obey him " (Dan. 7 : 13, 14, 27). 

God's revelation to Daniel was reproduced, through 
the angel Gabriel, in the annunciation to Mary, con- 
cluding, " and of his kingdom there shall be no 
end" (Luke 1:33). Isaiah also prophesied a like 
glorious kingdom for Messiah, and added the in- 
spired assurance, " The zeal of the Lord of hosts 
will perform this " (Isa. 9: 6, 7). 

The kingdom so pledged and prophesied tran- 
scended overwhelmingly any and every kingdom the 
world had ever known. It was to be absolutely uni- 
versal, embracing " all people," " all nations," and 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 237 

" all languages " ; " should never be destroyed." It 
should " break in pieces and consume all other 
kingdoms," and it should " stand forever." Its 
" sovereignty should not be left to another people " ; 
and to the Son of man, as king of that kingdom of 
God, Jehovah would give " dominion and glory." 
Finally, these transcendent blessings should " be 
given to the people of the saints of the Most High." 

This revelation and pledge of Jehovah was made 
when the body of the people of Israel were captives 
in a far-away land, Jerusalem in ruins and their 
temple destroyed. Yet Jehovah remembered them, 
and caused that the ruler who held them captive 
should have them returned, their temple rebuilt, 
and a government reestablished. 

Although at the advent of Jesus the Israelites were 
again a conquered people under the Romans, Jeho- 
vah's revelation and promise had not been revoked. 
That revelation and pledge was part of their cher- 
ished Sacred Scriptures, taught to every descen- 
dant of Abraham and associated adherent of the 
God of Abraham. Participation in the blessedness 
of that kingdom as his birthright was the claim and 
glory of every Israelite. So familiar was it that 
three words, " Kingdom of God," sufficed to ex- 
press it, as the three words " Fourth of July " 



238 Miracle and Science 

bring at once without definition to every American 
citizen the immortal Declaration and its glorious 
fruits. So, all through the Gospels, the phrases 
" kingdom of God " and " kingdom of heaven " are 
spoken baldly, on the assumption, correctly made, 
that the meaning would be understood without defi- 
nition. 

FULFILMENT OF DANIEL'S PROPHECY 

Note also Christ's revelation at the beginning of 
his ministry. His first recorded discourse is : 

" Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel 
of the kingdom of God, saying, [1] The time is ful- 
filled, and [2] the kingdom of God is at hand; [3] 
repent ye; and believe the gospel " (Mark 1:14, 
15). x 

That is, (1) the predicted time of Daniel's prophecy 
had arrived; (2) the transcendent, universal, all- 
conquering kingdom of the prophecy was immi- 
nent, "at hand " ; (3) the exhortation was " repent," 
as the essential, primary act of the soul for purifi- 
cation through the remission of sins, to fit a be- 
liever in Christ for entering into the inheritance 

1 Other recognition, by the Master, of Daniel's prophecy 
is Matt. 24 : 15. See, too, an admirable refutation of the 
skeptic-?' denial of the authenticity of the book of Daniel, 
by Joseph Wilson, D.D., entitled Did Daniel write Dan- 
iel ? New York : Charles C. Cook. 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 239 

presently to be given to the " saints of the Most 
High." Bishop Home says of the apostles and 
this kingdom: 

" In common with their countrymen they ex- 
pected a reigning and glorious Messiah, who was 
not only to deliver them from the Roman yoke, but 
who was also to subdue all his enemies. With him, 
they themselves expected to conquer and reign to- 
gether with the rest of the Jews as princes and 
nobles in the splendid court of this temporal Mes- 
siah. No expectation ever flattered the predomi- 
nant passions of men so powerfully as this. It 
showed itself on every occasion and adhered to 
them immovably." 

Forty days after the resurrection of Jesus it broke 
out at the solemn final interview between the risen 
Christ and the apostles in immediate connection 
with his ascension : " Lord, wilt thou at this time 
restore again the kingdom to Israel? " (Acts 1:6). 

FOUNDATION OF APOSTLES* FAITH IN JESUS AS 
MESSIAH 

Jesus the Messiah came having no army, no 
treasury, no arsenal or weapons of war, none of the 
material resources requisite for maintaining the 
power and state of a king or kingdom, no alliance 
with any earthly power or potentate, through whom 



240 Miracle and Science 

he or his adherents might expect to have a kingdom 
realized for him. Notwithstanding all this, the 
apostles believed Jesus was the Messiah, as he 
claimed to be, and therefore he was King, and 
would have the kingdom on earth depicted by 
Daniel, and they adhered to him accordingly. 
Why? 

Answer to this question will be next considered. 
As we have seen in former chapters, the evidence 
proved Jesus Messiah, hence also King. The record 
discloses nothing to show that the apostles had any 
anxiety over Jesus' apparent lack of the material 
facts and factors, the usual instrumentalities essen- 
tial for establishing and maintaining a kingdom. 
But evidence constantly given before the apostles of 
the miracle power of Jesus demonstrated that that 
power, so far as tested, was always omnipotent, 
adequate for any and every possible requirement, 
demand, or emergency. 

They saw Jesus, by his fiat or touch, cure other- 
wise incurable leprosy, nay ten lepers at once, by no 
other discernible act than speaking six words : " Go 
shew yourselves unto the priests " (all of you) ; and 
" as they went, they were cleansed " (Luke 17 : 14) ; 
saw Jesus' fiat cure the " withered hand " of a crip- 
ple, and " it was restored whole, as the other " 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 241 

(Matt. 12:13); saw fever cured by Jesus' word 
(Luke 4: 39) ; the nobleman's sick son, fifteen miles 
away, healed by the silent, unspoken fiat of Jesus 
(John 4:50); likewise, by Jesus' unspoken fiat, 
the centurion's absent servant healed (Luke 7: 
8-10). They saw Jesus' fiat cure the man impo- 
tent " thirty and eight years " (John 5:8, 9) ; saw 
the woman bowed down by an infirmity for eighteen 
years, who " could in no wise lift up herself," cured 
by his fiat (Luke 13:11); blind men restored to 
sight (Matt 9:30). They had seen the miracle 
power of Jesus give sight to the man born blind 
(John 9:7); hearing and power to speak given to 
the deaf and dumb (Mark 7:32-35). They had 
heard Jesus, in a throng pressing against him, de- 
clare that virtue had gone out of him, and had seen 
the woman whose disease had held her a sufferer 
twelve years come forward, and confess that she 
in the exercise of her faith touched but the hem of 
Jesus' garment and immediately had felt her mal- 
ady cured (Mark 5:25-34). Demons and devils 
were exorcised at the fiat of Jesus (Matt. 8:31; 
Luke 9 : 42 ; 11 : 20), and the apostles themselves, by 
miracle power delegated to them by Jesus, had been 
enabled to and did call into operation that power 
by which demons and devils were exorcised (Matt. 



242 Miracle and Science 

10:1; Luke 9 : 1 and 10 : 17) . They had seen Jesus 
by his miracle power turn water into wine (John 
2:9); secure tribute money from a fish (Matt. 17 : 
24, 27) ; seen miracle of draught of fishes at Jesus' 
command (Luke 5: 4, 6). They had seen Jesus 
by his miracle power augment five loaves and two 
fishes so that the augmented food was sufficient to 
feed five thousand men, besides women and chil- 
dren, leaving a surplus of twelve baskets full (Matt. 
14: 15-21) ; and seven loaves and a few fishes aug- 
mented to be sufficient to feed four thousand men, 
besides women and children, with seven baskets full 
left over (Matt. 15: 32-38). They saw Jesus blast 
the fig-tree (Matt. 21 : 19, 20 ; Mark 11 : 12, 13), re- 
buke the tempest, and the winds and waves obeyed 
and there was immediately a great calm (Matt. 
8:24-27; Mark 4:37-41; Luke 8:23-25); they 
saw Jesus by his miracle power repeatedly raise the 
dead to life again (Matt. 9 : 18 ; Mark 5 : 22 ; Luke 
8 : 41 and 7 : 11 ; John 11 and 12). 

The miracle augmenting the five loaves and two 
fishes so that the food was sufficient to feed five 
thousand men, besides women and children, was 
recorded by Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and a gen- 
eration later by John in his Gospel. The reason 
why John again recorded it seems found in verses 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 243 

14 and 15 of the sixth chapter of John (R. V.), 
namely, that the miracle produced such conviction, 
in the minds of those five thousand men, that Jesus 
was the Messiah, and hence King - , that they de- 
termined to take Jesus by force and proclaim him 
king. 

These miracles, and a like power shown on 
other occasions, were exhibited before the world 
and before the apostles, purposely by Jesus, to con- 
vince them and cause them to believe that Jesus was 
the Messiah, and hence, as they believed, King. In 
the exhibition of the miracle power of Jesus these 
momentous facts were demonstrated : Jesus' miracle 
power never failed, was always and at once equal 
for every case and every situation, not only ade- 
quate but superabundant. It was more than testi- 
mony ; it was demonstration that Jesus could at will 
withstand any power or force attempted to be 
brought against him or his kingdom or his adher- 
ents; that Jesus could restore any adherent to life 
if killed, or by a word or unspoken fiat heal all 
wounds, even if the wounded was absent miles 
away; could feed any army with a loaf of bread 
and a fish, could by his fiat destroy an army. In 
short, Jesus could, by mere fiat, equip and maintain 
whatever might be necessary, to uphold and admin- 



244 Miracle and Science 

ister the mighty and glorious kingdom Daniel had 
prophesied, and could confer on his adherents the 
glory and blessings of that kingdom at pleasure, for 
he was King of kings, and Lord of lords. 

FAITH PRODUCED BY MIRACLE 

The unconditioned, omnipotent miracle power of 
Jesus produced full belief in the minds and hearts 
of the apostles, that Jesus was the Messiah, King. 
That full belief and perfect confidence in the uncon- 
ditional miracle power of Jesus became the primary 
ground, the fundamental and controlling basis, of 
their faith in Jesus, and of their devoted adherence 
to him up to his death on the cross. Logically it 
follows that faith engendered on such foundation 
could not survive the loss or failure of the founda- 
tion. But the foregoing exhibition of miracle 
power was not all that operated on the minds and 
hearts of the apostles. Another miracle transac- 
tion, to be presently noticed, evidently not only con- 
clusively confirmed the faith of the apostles in 
Jesus as Messiah and King, and in his miracle 
power, but created in the minds and hearts of the 
apostles such overwhelming conviction that that 
transcendent kingdom, with all its allurements and 
grandeur, was to be immediately established, and 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 245 

they be the principal participants in its honor and 
glory, that the anticipations aroused by the convic- 
tion became a passion and a power, so dominating 
them that its expulsive force debarred from their 
apprehension matters the Master repeatedly taught 
plainly to them. The overmastery of their passion 
for the Kingdom, so aroused and confirmed, caused 
all else to be eclipsed. It caused other matters to be 
" hid," as Luke explains. The Master's repeated 
prophecy that he should be crucified, dead, and 
buried, and the third day rise from death, found no 
lodgment in their minds. Luke records : " But they 
understood not this saying, and it was hid from 
them, that they perceived it not " (Luke 9 : 45) ; and 
again : " They understood none of these things ; 
and this saying was hid from them, and they per- 
ceived not the things that were said" (Luke 18: 
34, Am. Rev.). 

MIRACLES ' — MOUNT OF TRANSFIGURATION 

The additional miracles just referred to were 
wrought on what Peter calls the Holy Mount 
(2 Pet. 1 : 16-18). The time appears to have been 
about a week after Jesus announced, on Peter's 
confession, that He would institute his Church, and 
the Gates of Hell should not prevail against it. Je- 



246 Miracle and Science 

sus " took Peter and John and James, and went up 
into the mountain to pray " (Luke 9 : 28 ; see Matt. 
17:1; Mark 9:2). Jesus was transfigured, "and 
his garments became glistering, exceeding white, 
so as no fuller on earth can whiten them " (Mark 
9:3). And there two hero saints of the ancient 
time met and communed with Jesus, — Moses, the 
hero of the Exodus; and Elijah, who had not only 
called down fire from heaven to vindicate God 
against Baal at Carmel, but who, to vindicate him- 
self as God's prophet against Ahab, had by God's 
direction called down fire from heaven which de- 
stroyed two troops of fifty and their captain sent 
by Ahab to capture Elijah. 

Luke records that these two hero saints " ap- 
peared in glory, and spake of the exodus which he 
[Jesus] should accomplish at Jerusalem " (Luke 
9:31). We have written "exodus" in the quo- 
tation, instead of "decease" (as in A. V.), be- 
cause the Greek word in Luke is eljoBov, which 
should be transliterated exodus. Exodus was not 
a word that to the apostles or to Jesus meant de- 
cease nor anything like death. On the contrary, it 
stood for a concept of more and better and glorious 
life, — going out of humiliation and oppression, out 
of subjection, into victory, liberty, glory, and an in- 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 247 

dependent nationality. Executing the commission 
of God in the exodus of the children of Israel from 
servility and humiliation in Egypt, and giving them 
a nationality and independence, was the special 
great and unique work wrought by Moses as God's 
agent. Something in the mission of Jesus cor- 
responding with that ancient and glorious exodus 
from Egypt was the thought foreshadowed by 
Moses when he spoke to Jesus of his " exodus 
which he should accomplish at Jerusalem " (Luke 
9:31). 

Add this conception to the fixed conviction in the 
minds and hearts of the apostles that Jesus was 
King, presently to come into the glorious Kingdom 
of Daniel's vision; and connect it with Jesus' own 
express declaration — his proclamation, recorded by 
Mark, of the good news of " the kingdom of God," 
saying, " The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of 
God is at hand" (Mark 1:14, 15), and the fact 
that Jehovah on the Mount gave his authenticating 
word, saying, " This is my beloved Son : hear him " 
(Luke 9:35); what could the apostles conclude 
from Moses' statement save this, that what Jesus 
" should accomplish at Jerusalem " was the estab- 
lishment in fact of the transcendent kingdom 
Daniel had prophesied. 



248 Miracle and Science 

That this was the conception and conviction de- 
rived from the language of Moses and Elijah, and 
Jehovah himself, is shown by several items of evi- 
dence in the record. 

On coming down from the Holy Mount, when 
the miracle of healing the boy possessed by a demon 
was wrought, Luke records : " Then there arose a 
reasoning among them [the apostles], which of 
them should be greatest " (Luke 9 : 46). And such 
reasoning it seems was had by the apostles among 
themselves by the way; for when they came to Ca- 
pernaum, " in the house " Jesus asked them, " What 
was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the 
way? But they held their peace: for by the way 
they had disputed among themselves who should be 
the greatest " (Mark 9 : 33, 34). 

Again, in the same chapter, it would seem the 
apostles, James and John at least, concluded that 
Christ's kingdom had already come, his transfigura- 
tion was his coronation, and the audible words of 
Deity commending men to hear and heed him were 
adequate ordination of Jesus as King, and that 
whosoever should fail to heed and honor Jesus as 
Supreme Sovereign should be punished with ex- 
treme severity ; for " when the time was come .... 
he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem " (Luke 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 249 

9:51). Jesus, as a sovereign might do, sent mes- 
sengers forward to a " village of the Samaritans, to 
make ready for him. And they did not receive him 
.... when his disciples James and John saw this, 
they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to 
come down from heaven, and consume them, even 
as Elias did?" They had but lately heard Elijah, 
as well as Moses, converse with Jesus in the Holy 
Mount. 

Jesus told them they did not know their own 
spirit, that he did not come to destroy lives, but to 
save them. Later, on the same last journey of Je- 
sus and his apostles from Galilee to Jerusalem, a 
transaction occurred that shows how the leaven of 
political ambition for the honors of the Kingdom 
had permeated and controlled the apostles. From 
Matthew 27 : 56, compared with Mark 15 : 40 ; 16 : 1, 
and with John 19 : 25, it seems inferable that the 
mother of James and John, Salome, was a sister to 
the mother of Jesus, making James and John his 
near kinsmen. 

James and John (their mother uniting with them 
it seems) undertook to get a selfish advantage over 
the other apostles. They worshiped Jesus. Then 
they sought what the record says the mother ex- 
pressly prayed : " Grant that these my two sons may 



250 Miracle and Science 

sit, the one on thy right hand, the other on the left, 
in thy kingdom " (Matt. 20: 20, 21; Mark 10: 35- 
37). That this was done furtively, to secure the 
highest honors of the great kingdom, get the hon- 
ors away from the other apostles, seems clear ; for, 
"when the ten heard thereof, they were moved 
with indignation against the two brethren" (Matt. 
20:24; Mark 10:41). The whole record shows 
that the indignation of the other ten apostles was 
not because the honors sought by James and John 
were not legitimate objects of desire, but because 
James and John resorted to secret, underhanded 
methods in attempting to gain political advantage 
over the ten in honors in the glorious kingdom 
which the ten also hoped for, and possibly coveted. 
Again, the leaven of political ambition was seen 
at the Last Supper, for Luke reveals that then 
" there was also a strife among them which should 
be accounted greatest" (Luke 22:24). The con- 
fidence of the apostles in the speedy establishment 
of the kingdom was naturally strengthened when, 
at the Passover season, the vast multitude met and 
followed Jesus, seated on the ass's colt, and hailed 
him as King, shouting, " Hosanna .... Blessed is 
the kingdom that cometh, the kingdom of our fa- 
ther David " (Mark 11 : 9, 10). The Apostle John 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 251 

records that this demonstration was fulfilment of 
prophesy, " as it is written, Fear not, daughter of 
Zion; behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's 
colt" (John 12:15; see Zech. 9:9). 

The Master's own words must have also im- 
pressed the apostles profoundly with belief that the 
demonstration was then and there a part of the 
Master's proceedings by which he would presently 
establish his kingdom. For when the whole multi- 
tude of the disciples with loud voice hailed Jesus, 
" Blessed is the King that cometh in the name of 
the Lord," the Pharisees called on Jesus to rebuke 
his disciples, for so proclaiming Jesus as King. Je- 
sus answered the Pharisees' challenge and said, " I 
tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the 
stones would immediately cry out " (Luke 19 : 37- 
40). 

The foregoing shows the attitude of mind and 
heart of the apostles, their apprehension and esti- 
mate of Jesus and his mission, and especially that 
the ground and cause of their faith in Jesus as Mes- 
siah and King was in his omnipotent miracle power. 
That was the condition and situation when Jesus 
gathered the apostles at Jerusalem for the last sup- 
per, the evening before his betrayal and crucifixion. 
Several matters transpired at that feast which must 



252 Miracle and Science 

have affected the apostles profoundly, if not at the 
moment yet later at the crucifixion. These will next 
be considered. 

Section III 

JESUS — LAST SUPPER — ARREST — TRIAL 

In announcing his betrayal by Judas, Jesus quoted 
the sentiment of Ps. 41 : 9 : " He that eateth bread 
with me hath lifted up his heel against me " (John 
13:18); and John adds: "When Jesus had thus 
said, he was troubled in spirit " (John 13 : 21). Je- 
sus applied to himself the words of Isaiah 53 : 12 : 
" And he was reckoned among the transgressors," 
and added, " For the things concerning me have an 
end " (Luke 22 : 37) . What could this mean to the 
apostles? End of their King? Jesus questioned 
the apostles, as to whether, when he sent them forth 
as his missionaries without purse or scrip or shoes, 
they lacked anything? They answered, " Nothing" 
(Luke 22 : 35) . Jesus said : " But now, he that hath 
a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip : and 
he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and 
buy one" (Luke 22:36). The apostles replied: 
"Lord, here are two swords." And he said unto 
them: " It is enough " (Luke 22:38). What did 
this mean to the apostles, coming from the Master 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 253 

who had taught them, " Resist not evil ; but whoso- 
ever smiteth thee on thy right cheek, turn to him 
the other also " ? (Matt. 5 : 39). Did this new teach- 
ing mean war? If so, to the apostles, one sword 
with Jesus omnipotent was enough. 

Then Jesus and the eleven went out into the 
Mount of Olives. Jesus took Peter, James, and 
John, " and began to be sore amazed .... and saith 
unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even 
unto death" (Mark 14:34). "He went a little 
farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, 
O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass 
from me" (Matt. 26: 39). Luke, the physician, 
adds: "And being in an agony, he prayed more 
earnestly, and his sweat became as it were great 
drops of blood falling upon the ground " (Luke 
22:44). The concept translated "an agony" de- 
notes extreme anguish of mind, the strong conflict 
produce'd between sinking human nature and the 
prospect of deep, overwhelming calamities. 

What did this mean to the apostles — not to us in 
our light, but to the apostles — and their faith in 
Jesus, based on belief in his omnipotent power? 

Immediately on the heels of the agony and 
piteous outcry of Jesus for help, a multitude came 
with Judas to arrest Jesus. The apostles had 



254 Miracle and Science 

heretofore on several occasions seen angry men, 
with murder in their hearts, take stones in their 
hands to kill Jesus, but saw Jesus go safely through 
the midst of them (John 8 : 59). Later " the Jews 
took up stones again to stone him .... they sought 
again to take him, but he escaped out of their 
hands" (John 10:31-39). The people of Naza- 
reth, angry at his preaching, determined to cast him 
headlong from the brow of the hill on which their 
city was built ; " but he passing through the midst 
of them went his way " (Luke 4: 29). In short, the 
person of Jesus had never been profaned by arrest. 
From merely touching the hem of his garment, vir- 
tue, as the Master described it, had gone forth and 
healed the afflicted woman (Matt. 9:20-22; Mark 
5:25-34; Luke 8:43-48). 

The apostles knew their Scriptures. Jehovah had 
smitten Uzzah mortally for rashness in touching 
the sacred ark (2 Sam. 6 : 3-11 ; 1 Chron. 13 : 5-14). 
Two companies of fifty each, with their captains, 
had been smitten mortally when attempting pro- 
fanely to arrest God's servant, Elijah (2 Kings 1; 
10:12). Would not Jehovah's miracle power go 
out to protect the Messiah, whom demons even 
averred was the Holy One of God ? 

Some little time, it seems, elapsed after the mul- 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 255 

titude came before making the physical arrest of 
Jesus. Luke records some consultation as to mak- 
ing defense. This is important in view of Jesus' 
counsel, only an hour before, to sell garments and 
buy swords. The record is: "When they [the 
apostles] that were about him [Jesus] saw what 
would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we 
smite with the sword?" (Luke 22:49). The 
record contains no answer. But the consultation 
and question asked are evidence that the faith of the 
apostles in Jesus was not yet impaired, that they 
were not then terrorized. Peter had a sword, drew 
it and fought, struck at and missed the head of Mal- 
chus, but cut off his ear. Peter's act is evidence 
tending to prove that, had Jesus ordered war, to set 
up his kingdom, Peter would have fought to the 
death, as he had virtually promised he would. But 
Jesus bade Peter desist. Then the apostles saw to 
them a bewildering sight, — saw Jesus, heretofore 
omnipotent on all emergencies, — Jesus, whom they 
had worshiped as Deity and who had accepted their 
worship, — endowed, as all the evidence led them 
to believe, with omnipotence in fact, — saw Jesus, 
fettered, in the hands of the minions of his remorse- 
less enemies, led away unresisting, meekly, even as 
a broken-spirited culprit. 



256 Miracle and Science 

What must this have meant to the apostles? Was 
the ground of their faith passing away ? Although 
at first they fled, the faseinatio* of the terrible 
scene drew the apostles back. They saw the indigni- 
ties cruelly heaped upon Jesus, before the Sanhe- 
drin; saw the enemies smite him (John 18:22), 
spit in his face, and buffet him (Matt. 26 : 67) ; saw 
him taunted as a fraudulent pretender because, 
when blindfolded and smitten, he did not reply to 
their taunt : " Prophesy, who is it that smote 
thee?" (Luke 22:64). They saw him mocked as 
King of the Jews (Matt. 27: 27, 30), saw his body 
lacerated by the bloody scourge, saw him delivered 
by Pilate to be executed, weak amd fainting, led 
away to be crucified (Matt. 27 : 27 ; Mark 15 : 15, 
22) ; saw him nailed to the cross, uplifted, and left 
there to die as a condemned criminal, a. spectacle to 
a jeering crowd. 

In this review of the deadly peril to the Church 
of Christ from the assaults of the Gates of Hell, we 
do not at all consider the profound doctrines of the 
awful sacrifice of Jesus on the cross , nor of the 
atonement, or the reasons thereof in the mission 
and salvation of Christ ; for these profound matters 
are easily seen to be some of the " many things " 
the Master desired to tell his apostles the night be- 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 257 

fore he was crucified, but did not, because they 
could not bear them then. This review proceeds 
without discussing those important doctrines, be- 
cause we are considering the apostles and their 
state of knowledge of Divine things, including their 
ignorance of those, when the terrible tragedy at 
Calvary smote them, in order that we may appre- 
ciate the deadly peril in which Christianity and the 
Church of Christ were placed when the enemies of 
Jesus compassed his death on the cross, that there- 
by we may know something of the inestimable im- 
portance of the miracle of the resurrection of Jesus 
as integral and constituent in the Christian religion 
— God's economy of grace, without which the 
Church of Christ would not have survived the as- 
saults of its enemies. 

Section IV 

ON THE CROSS — APOSTLES* FAITH ECLIPSED 

The agony of the cross before Jesus' death lasted 
six hours, from " the third hour " until the ninth 
hour (Matt. 27 : 45 ; Mark 15 : 25). Especially dur- 
ing that time the apostles heard the scoffs and taunts 
the chief priests cast at Jesus, proposing ordeals, 
tests, and issues, all based on the claim of the 



258 Miracle and Science 

enemies of Jesus that he was destitute of miracle 
power — that he was not the Messiah, or Son of 
God — and challenging Jesus, and even Jehovah 
himself, to interfere, stop the execution if Jesus was 
the Son of God. In short, the enemies of JesUs held 
up to scorn the miracle power of Jesus and his claim 
to be Messiah and King, which was the very basis, 
the fundamental ground, of the faith of the apos- 
tles in Jesus and of their adherence to him. 

They heard " the chief priests mocking him with 
the scribes and the elders," saying, " He saved oth- 
ers; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of 
the Jews, let him come down from the cross, and 
we will believe him" (Matt. 27:41, 42). That 
this was a proposition, test, or issue, capable of 
serious treatment, and therefore had a serious effect 
on the apostles, cannot be doubted. Jesus himself 
had, as they knew, made his miracle power the issue 
and standard by which to test and prove his di- 
vinity, and power on earth to forgive sins, in 
the case of the palsied man at Capernaum (Luke 
5:18-26). If comparison can properly be made 
between miracles, certainly Jesus had theretofore 
wrought miracles vastly greater than would have 
been the miracle of coming down from the cross, as 
challenged by his enemies. 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 259 

The apostles, also, heard the chief priests taunt 
Jesus with his claim that God was his Father, and 
their challenge to Jehovah to come and deliver 
Jesus, saying, " He trusted in God ; let him deliver 
him now, if he will have him ; for he said, I am the 
Son of God" (Matt. 27:43). 

Note two matters: 1. Jesus did not accept the 
challenge to work a miracle and come down from 
the cross. Must not the apostles have wondered 
why not? 2. God did not come down and deliver 
Jesus from the ignominious death on the cross. 
Again must the question not have been, Why not? 
These, and like questions, must have exercised the 
minds of the apostles profoundly, and led to some 
conclusions, when they saw their King, always be- 
fore omnipotent, now being killed by his enemies. 

As to the first question: to the apostles, common 
men, with the mysteries then unsolved, would not 
their conclusion be, Jesus does not deliver himself 
because he cannot; his miracle power is gone? 
Was not that what the evidence before them dis- 
closed ? They saw the mother of Jesus standing near 
the cross, and also the Apostle John. " He saith 
unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son. Then 
saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother " (John 
19 : 26, 27). At the supper, just the evening before, 



260 Miracle and Science 

Jesus had said to the apostles, " This that is written 
must be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned 
among the transgressors ; for the things concerning 
me have an end" (Luke 22:37). Crucified be- 
tween two thieves, Jesus' physical life was coming, 
as fast as torture on the cross could accomplish it, 
to an end; and recognizing that fact, and because 
he was immediately coming to his death and no 
longer able to do aught to care for his mother, he 
made that dying provision for her, through the 
love and friendship of John. Was it not the con- 
clusion of the apostles forced on them by the over- 
whelming evidence that Jesus was only a mere 
human being, now destitute of miracle power, suf- 
fering, as an ordinary human culprit, a death sen- 
tence inflicted by the officers of the law ? 

As to the second question, Why did not God de- 
liver Jesus? Did not the facts and situation raise 
most momentous questions in the minds of the 
apostles? Jesus had proclaimed himself Deity, had 
accepted worship as Deity. If Jesus was only a man, 
he was guilty of the crime of blasphemy, the pen- 
alty of which was death. He had been tried by the 
Jewish court, found guilty of blasphemy, and death 
was the penalty. If Jesus was only a man, that 
penalty had been clearly incurred. 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 261 

CHALLENGE OF PRIESTS AND RULERS 

The chief priests, rulers, and apostles apprehend- 
ed God as omnipresent. The appeal of the chief 
priests and rulers to God to take Jesus if he was 
his Son was made on the ground that Jehovah 
then and there saw the agony of Jesus on the cross. 
If Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah of the 
Holy Scriptures, one with God, they could not 
doubt that God, the eternal Father, was then and 
there fully cognizant of the awful scene. When 
therefore the rulers (Luke 27 : 41) and chief priests 
(Matt. 27:41; Mark 15:31) spoke the taunting 
words, "He trusted in God; let him [God] de- 
liver him now if he will have him ; for he said, I am 
the Son of God," the challenge was to God, Jeho- 
vah, himself; and thus the officials who had con- 
demned Jesus and were witnessing his execution 
put themselves and their dealing with Jesus on 
trial before Jehovah on the issue that Jesus was 
not the Christ, but was an impostor and guilty of 
blasphemy. To call on God on an issue involving 
deity was not an unknown thing in Jewish life and 
history. When on momentous occasions the ques- 
tion of deity was in issue, God had answered such 
issue by miracle. The whole series of miracles 
wrought through Moses at the Exodus, extending 



262 Miracle and Science 

through many days, were all made God's testimony, 
to demonstrate Jehovah the only true God, and 
condemn and punish the arrogant challenge of 
Pharaoh, " Who is the Lord, that I should obey his 
voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, 
neither will I let Israel go" (Ex. 5:2). When 
again supremacy between Baal and Jehovah was in 
challenge at Carmel, God answered by miracle be- 
fore the world in vindication of his Name and his 
Prophet. 

The challenge here was, that Jesus was not Mes- 
siah, not the Christ, not the Son of God, not one 
with the Father ; that if he was, God would deliver 
him from the cross. If Jesus was not a mere man, 
if he was what he had proclaimed himself to be, 
then the challengers were committing a crime 
transcending any the world had ever known, even 
murdering the God-man, Christ Jesus. The appeal 
involved deity, made openly before the world. To 
the apostles, must it not have been a time of inex- 
pressible suspense? What would God answer? 
God did not interfere, did not save Jesus, did not 
" take him," but allowed the condemnation of Jesus 
as a malefactor, and punishment of death decreed 
against him, to take their course and terminate his 
life. This must have seemed to the apostles God's 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 263 

tacit answer to the challenge of the chief priests 
and rulers. Must not the conviction have been 
forced on the apostles that Jesus had claimed too 
much in making himself equal with God? As be- 
fore noted, when Moses, giddy perhaps from his 
exaltation in connection with working miracles, 
said, " Must we " do it, and assumed apparently to 
encroach only so slightly on the exclusive preroga- 
tives of Deity, he had been severely punished, though 
deeply repentant. If Jesus was only a man, his of- 
fense was vastly greater than that of Moses, for 
Jesus had persisted for three years in claiming and 
proclaiming himself one with God, and was now 
being executed for making that claim. 

Had God, therefore, withdrawn from Jesus? 
Was it God's withdrawal of miracle power from 
Jesus, and God's abandonment of Jesus, that con- 
stituted the terrible cup of horror that Jesus, a few 
hours before in Gethsemane, had three times prayed 
in an agony he might be saved from? Would not 
the whole fearful situation, including the non- 
interference of Jehovah, and Jesus' agony, lan- 
guage, and surrender the night before, start these 
questions in the apostles' minds? The killing sus- 
pense continued until the ninth hour, when, although 
God kept silence, Jesus spoke, " My God, my God, 



264 Miracle and Science 

why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matt. 27 : 46). Lit- 
erally, this was, to the apostles, a dying confession 
of Jesus, that God had forsaken him, that the things 
concerning him had come to an end, a confession 
wrung from him in agony, in immediate prospect 
of death, which immediately followed; for the 
record is, " Jesus, when he had cried again with a 
loud voice, yielded up the ghost" (Matt. 27:50). 
Jesus was dead. 

We have been examining the evidence to see if, 
in any lawful and allowable view of it, it is suffi- 
cient to sustain the proposition, that, without the 
miracle of the resurrection of Jesus, Christianity 
would not have survived his death on the cross. 

apostles' faith lost 
To the apostles, — nay, to the common-sense 
judgment of good and lawful jurors rendering 
their verdict on the evidence and situation we have 
examined, culminating in the Last Supper, Geth- 
semane, arrest, condemnation, and death of Jesus 
on the cross as a malefactor, — the Gates of Hell 
had prevailed in their attack against the Church of 
Christ by attacking and compassing the death of 
Jesus its Head, and therewith destroying the very 
cause and actual foundation of the faith of the 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 265 

apostles in Jesus. This had been done by an open, 
public test and trial before the world, on the issue 
that Jesus was impotent, destitute of miracle power, 
destitute of that on which, as its actual foundation 
and cause, the faith of the apostles in Jesus had 
been engendered and established and on which that 
faith rested; and that the miracle power conferred 
on Jesus, God had withdrawn from Jesus and had 
abandoned him. The evidence was, that in his 
agony and dying words Jesus had acknowledged 
that abandonment. 

A verdict of a jury to that effect could not be 
set aside, as contrary to or as unsupported by the 
evidence, but would stand and justify the judgment 
that, without the resurrection of Jesus, Christianity 
would not have survived his death on the cross. 
For that Church could not survive without faith in 
Jesus as its Head. But faith in Jesus could not 
survive the destruction of the actual ground and 
only cause that thus far had produced and sustained 
that faith. The above conclusions seem clearly the 
judgment of right reason. 

What does the evidence disclose as to the effect 
on the faith of the apostles of the tragic assault of 
the Gates of Hell on the Church in compassing the 
death of Jesus on the cross as it did ? Consternation, 



266 Miracle and Science 

horror, dismay, faith destroyed, hopelessness, and 
the like, are the terms that must be used to correct- 
ly describe the condition of mind and heart of the 
apostles at the death of Jesus, and for the three 
days succeeding, until they were informed of his 
resurrection. The apostles seem to have been 
struck dumb by the awful tragedy, and the evident 
public demonstration of the collapse and utter im- 
potency of their adored Master, Captain, and King. 
Joseph of Arimathsea, Nicodemus, and the women 
gave evidence that they honored Jesus, and did not 
forget to honor the dead body of him they had 
loved, by procuring it from Pilate and providing it 
decent sepulture (Matt. 27:57, 58; Mark 15:42- 
47; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42). But the 
apostles took no part, and so far as known gave no 
heed. 

Some items of evidence seem to show that the 
awful tragedy destroying the life of Jesus, and the 
more awful demolition of their ground of faith in 
Jesus and his miracles, had crushed the apostles 
into a stupor that deadened all their faculties. They 
forgot explicit instructions and express counsels of 
the Master, immediately connected with his cruci- 
fixion and death, — instructions and commands 
given them less than twenty-four hours before. 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 267 

After the supper the Master, at the Mount of 
Olives, appointed a mountain in Galilee on which 
he would meet his apostles after his resurrection 
(Matt. 28:16; 26:32; Mark 14:28). That ap- 
pointment of the Master constituted a command. 
The evidence shows that the Master foresaw the 
benumbing stupor the tragedy of the cross and its 
disclosures would have on the apostles, for he com- 
missioned the " angel of the Lord " that " came and 
rolled away the stone from the door of the sepul- 
cher, and sat upon it," to tarry there and notify the 
first comers to the tomb, not only that Jesus was 
risen, but to carry " quickly " to Jesus' disciples no- 
tice that Jesus would go before them into Galilee; 
" there shall ye see him" (Matt. 28:2-7). Later 
the Master himself again sent notice by the woman 
who had come to the sepulcher : " Go tell my 
brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall 
they see me " (Matt. 28 : 9, 10). 



Section V 
apostles' faith awakened, not perfected, by 
resurrection of jesus. 
It is evident that only the miracle of the resur- 
rection of Jesus could have aroused the apostles 



268 Miracle and Science 

from the dismay and despair that overwhelmed and 
crushed them as the consequence of the assault of 
the Gates of Hell on the Head of the Church and 
the death of their King and Lord on the cross. All 
this shows most cogently the transcendent impor- 
tance of this miracle of God as essential, integral, 
constituent, in his economy or kingdom of grace. 
Jesus' deity ordained it and constantly employed it 
as integral and constituent in his mission of salva- 
tion in engendering and establishing faith, the su- 
preme virtue through which men may be restored 
to true filial relationship with God the Father, and 
come into enduring citizenship and life in " the eter- 
nal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ " 
(2 Pet. 1:11). This will be further manifest in 
examining a series of miracles, wrought subse- 
quently, and auxiliary to such function and purpose 
of the miracle of the resurrection of Jesus — a 
series of miracles indispensable in that economy in 
fitting, equipping, and qualifying the apostles and 
disciples as his human constituents to organize and 
be organized into the Church of Christ, and admin- 
ister and employ it in his service in executing the 
great commission. 

The evidence is conclusive, that at the resurrec- 
tion of Jesus the apostles and disciples were not 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 269 

fined., not qualified, to enter on that sen-ice. They 
did become transformed men, fitted and qualified 
for that work, but that was not solely accomplished 
by the miracle of the resurrection of Jesus, nor un- 
til fifty days after that event, and not fully until 
after the lessons furnished by the other miracles, 
next to be considered. 

ESSENTIAL INSTRUCTION TO APOSTLES 

The evidence shows, that to fit the apostles for 
that sen-ice, it was necessary, and to human view 
indispensable, that, among other matters, they 
should be converted from their false seductive con- 
ception of the Messiah's kingdom as only an earthly, 
political kingdom, a conception already described ; 
also, that they should attain and accept a true 
and adequate conception of the spiritual kingdom 
of Christ as now disclosed in the record and which 
through their labors he would establish ; not only 
that, but that they should voluntarily and devoutly 
accept that spiritual kingdom and its intensely al- 
truistic sen-ice, to which all disciples are called and 
to which for life the apostles had been ordained. 

That altruistic sen-ice was the unsparing sacri- 
fice of self to be made for sinful men. — a sacrifice, 
of which the Master had given perfect example, 



270 Miracle and Science 

even unto death on the cross ; also, that the disciples 
should have explained to them the death of Jesus 
on the cross, its necessity and significance in the 
economy of grace; also, that they should be shown 
the fulfilment of Scripture by the death and resur- 
rection of Jesus, so that they might fully appre- 
hend the continuity of the new dispensation with 
the old. For the accomplishment of these things, in 
equipping the disciples for such service, it was 
essential that Jesus should give them ample, repeat- 
ed, and varied proofs of his resurrection. All this, 
and whatever else was requisite, was accomplished ; 
and on the Pentecostal day the apostles were trans- 
formed men, fitted for service, and entered tri- 
umphantly on the work to which they had been 
ordained. As we shall see, that transformation was 
the work of the risen Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, 
and each step in the process was a miracle. 

Immediately on his resurrection, the same morn- 
ing, Jesus commenced the work of fitting his dis- 
ciples for the work he would commit to them : 

1. By notifying them to meet him in a mountain 
in Galilee (Matt. 28:10), where he might instruct 
them without being shut in doors " for fear of the 
Jews" (John 20:19). 

2. The same afternoon Jesus instructed two dis- 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 271 

ciples on the way to Emmaus. They had learned 
Jesus had risen; but, even with that knowledge, 
their overmastering grief, begotten of disappoint- 
ment in losing the glorious earthly kingdom in 
which they had hoped a part, came out in their 
plaint : " We trusted that it had been he which 
should have redeemed Israel" (Luke 24: 21). The 
inveteracy of the dominating love and devotion to 
the false conception of Messiah's kingdom would 
seem to have so shown itself that the Master deemed 
it necessary to use strenuous words to break them 
loose from it. He said : 

" O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the 
prophets have spoken. Ought not Christ to have 
suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? 
And beginning at Moses, and all the prophets, he 
expounded unto them in all the Scriptures, the 
things concerning himself" (Luke 24:25-27). 

The two disciples hastened back to Jerusalem and 
found Jesus there; also, the ten gathered together 
and them that were with them, who said, 
" The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared 
unto Simon. . . . And as they spake, Jesus himself 
stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, 
Peace be unto you" (Luke 24:34, 36). "But 
Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was 
not with them when Jesus came" (John 20:24). 
" But they were terrified, and affrighted, and sup- 



272 Miracle and Science 

posed that they had seen a spirit. And he said 
unto them, Why are ye troubled, and why do 
thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands 
and my feet, that it is I myself : handle me, and see, 
for a spirit hath not flesh and blood, as ye see me 
have. And when he had thus spoken, he showed 
them his hands and his feet. And while they be- 
lieved not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, 
Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a 
piece of broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he 
took it, and did eat before them. And he said unto 
them, These are the words I spake unto you, while 
I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, 
which were written in the law of Moses, and the 
prophets, and the psalms, concerning me. Then 
opened he their understanding, that they might un- 
derstand the Scriptures, and said unto them, Thus 
it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, 
and to rise from the dead the third day; and that 
repentance and remission of sins should be preached 
in his name, among all nations, beginning at Jeru- 
salem. And ye are witnesses to these things " 
(Luke 24:37-48; Mark 16:12, 13, 14-18; John 
20:19-24). 

The record does not state specific clauses or por- 
tions of the Scriptures, if the Master cited such. 
Reference Bibles cite many texts, as one may see. 
But the subject was nothing less than the second 
Person of the Godhead in the Old Testament; and 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 273 

what the record does specify is, that Jesus " ex- 
pounded to them in all the Scriptures the things 
concerning himself." This particular subject is too 
vast to be treated adequately or profitably, save by 
thorough and reasonably extended discussion. Such 
examination is not included in the plan of this 
work. 1 

It must be remembered that every appearance of 
Jesus to his disciples after his resurrection was a 
miracle. The first five of those appearances and 
miracles appear to have been as follows : 

1. Several women followers of Jesus were early 
at the tomb, and, learning from angels that Jesus 
had risen, were returning to the city when Jesus 
met them (Matt. 28:9, 10). 

2. To Mary Magdalene (John 20:11-15). 

3. To Peter (Luke 24: 34; 1 Cor. 15: 5). 

4. Later to two disciples journeying to Em- 
maus (Luke 24: 15-35). 

5. The evening of that day to the eleven apos- 
tles, except Thomas (Luke 24:24, 36-43; John 2: 
19-24). 

^ee Christ in the Old Testament, by Professor 
William H. Thompson, M.D., LL.D., where "the things 
concerning Christ" in the Ancient Scriptures are abund- 
antly and thoroughly set forth with ample learning and 
scientific method and scholarship. New York: Harper 
& Brothers. 1884. 



274 Miracle and Science 

In connection with the Last Supper, the evening 
before the crucifixion, Jesus told the apostles ex- 
pressly, " I have yet many things to say unto you, 
but ye cannot bear them now " (John 16 : 12). But, 
following his death and resurrection, the Master's 
act indicates that the disciples were in a condition 
to hear some things concerning himself that before 
his death and resurrection they were not able to 
bear. As we have seen, the Master began at once, 
the same day of his resurrection, by miracles and 
instruction, the work of imparting to his disciples 
great truths and counsels that should, with his 
other teaching, fit and equip them for the great 
work to which he had called them. On the first 
day, Jesus delivered to his disciples two extended 
discourses, the subject of which was Christ Em- 
manuel, God-with-us. The historical literary mat- 
ter expounded was the entire Old Testament Scrip- 
tures, so far as they concerned Christ, especially as 
designed to fit the disciples to be his ministers in 
the Christian dispensation as a dispensation con- 
tinued from the Old Testament. 

Other appearances and miracles of Jesus after 
the resurrection, on careful examination of the rec- 
ord and by the rules of evidence administered in the 
courts of justice, are shown as follows : As Thomas 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 275 

was not present with the other ten when Jesus ap- 
peared to them the evening of the day of his resur- 
rection, and Thomas refused to believe the testi- 
mony of the others that Jesus had risen, the disciples 
remained in Jerusalem until the following Sunday. 

RESURRECTION OF JESUS — ORDEAL OF TRIAL. 

6. On the first day of the week succeeding his 
resurrection, Jesus again appeared to his followers 
(John 20:26). Each appearance of Jesus subse- 
quent to his burial evidenced his resurrection, not 
however with equal potency. This appearance, 
when duly considered in connection with cognate 
matters, will be found profoundly important. 
Thomas's course and acts during the ten days suc- 
ceeding the crucifixion are involved, and have im- 
portant influence in the proof. Commentators have 
so generally condemned Thomas, that they have 
fixed on him the opprobrious sobriquet " doubting 
Thomas." Present-day conditions in the religious 
world suggest views of the evidential facts of this 
appearance that heretofore may not have received 
the emphasis and value inherent in them, but 
which, duly appreciated, not only will show the 
profound importance of this episode in probative 
function, but may modify the estimate of Thomas. 



276 Miracle and Science 

It is common knowledge that at the present time 
among adherents of Christianity there is a large 
class of devotees of science and philosophy, follow- 
ed by a great many in the ministry and by laymen, 
who, on alleged grounds of science and in the name 
of philosophy, have formulated an anti-supernatur- 
al presupposition, a dogma; that, as nature and 
evolution in human life and history are conceived 
by them, miracle is impossible; hence they deny 
the resurrection of Jesus. That anomaly was 
mentioned in the introductory chapter (p. 2). Its 
consideration, then deferred, is pertinent in this 
connection. Dr. James Denney in his latest work, 
just published, describes the situation this class has 
produced in the religious world, which we quote: 
" There is a dogmatic conception of history which 
tells us beforehand that there cannot be in history 
any such event as the resurrection of Jesus is rep- 
resented in the New Testament to be." 1 After 
noting that with such a dogma " it is impossible to 
argue," because he who holds it cannot but regard 
it as a supreme standard, by which he is bound to 

1 Jesus and the Gospel : Christianity Justified in the 
Mind of Christ. By James Denney, D.D., Professor of 
New Testament Language, Literature, and Theology, 
United Free Church College, Glasgow. New York : A. C. 
Armstrong & Son. 1909. 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 277 

test every argument alleged against it, Dr. Denney 
continues : " But though it is vain to controvert 
such a dogma by argument, it may be demolished 
by collision with facts." Dr. Denney here holds 
correctly that the rational, the true course for de- 
termining the verity of the resurrection of Jesus is 
to inquire what are the facts disclosed by available 
evidence — the testimony and its value. 

This is the scientific method which duly employed 
has in our era so vastly enlarged man's knowledge 
and dominion in every department of human wel- 
fare, religious and secular, spiritual and material. 
It is the method that achieves certainties by investi- 
gations. Employing this method, one can readily 
see that, had one such negator, a devotee of science, 
been in Jerusalem when Jesus was crucified and 
during the ten days succeeding, and had he been 
told by ten of Jesus' missionaries that Jesus had 
risen from death to life, and that they had seen 
and conversed with him, such a one would have 
disbelieved their story and so informed them ; and, 
in addition, in the interest of truth would have 
challenged them either to produce the living body 
of the crucified Jesus, with the wounds in his hands 
and in his side for inspection (so that the living 
body so produced might be indubitably identified 



278 Miracle and Science 

with the dead body that was taken from the cross), 
or else that they should cease publishing their in- 
credible story. That would naturally be the atti- 
tude of the scientists, and that the proposition and 
language of the science which they extol. The 
record shows no impugnment of the truthfulness, 
candor, or intelligence of Thomas ; but does reveal 
him as of more than ordinary firmness. Thomas 
alone is named as ready to go back to Jewry with 
Jesus to meet with him threatened death by the 
Jews (John 11: 16). He exhibited special staunch- 
ness in adhering to his conviction. Thomas was in 
Jerusalem when Jesus was crucified and most pro- 
foundly affected by the fact. Thomas knew, ear- 
lier or later, what the record discloses, that, as the 
end drew near, " Jesus, crying with a loud voice, 
said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: 
and having said this, he gave up the ghost " (Luke 
23:46, Am. Rev.). Thomas knew that Jesus had 
parted from the dead body hanging on the cross 
at Calvary, and had gone to the Father ; knew that 
the murderous Roman spear, forged for war and 
the destruction of human life, had been thrust into 
the body of Jesus on the cross; that the spear 
thrust had pierced vital organs and drained from 
the pericardium the watery serum in which the 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 279 

heart floated, without which life could not exist. 
Thomas knew that the death-dealing spear had also 
pierced the heart; for from the wound in the side, 
when the spear was withdrawn, there flowed out 
what was described as blood and water. He knew, 
also, that the dead and pierced body, with vital or- 
gans mortally mutilated, had been taken from the 
cross, that it had lain three days in the rock vault 
(shut by the great stone rolled in front of the door), 
the closure sealed by Roman authority. 

On the evening of the first day of the week fol- 
lowing the entombment, Jesus appeared to the ten 
apostles in the absence of Thomas. The ten told 
this to Thomas, presumably, as early as the next 
day, the second of that week. Thomas knew that 
Jesus had raised other dead bodies to life — Lazarus, 
a son of the widow of Nain, and Jairus's daughter. 
But nothing is shown, in either of those cases, to 
indicate that any vital organ had been mutilated or 
physically destroyed. Life only was needed to re- 
suscitate them. The difference between raising 
those unmutilated bodies to life and that of raising 
to life the dead body of Jesus, with vital organs 
mutilated, was to Thomas measureless — like the 
difference between something and nothing. The 
story of the ten called on Thomas to believe the 



280 Miracle and Science 

proposition that Jesus had himself come back from 
the Father; penetrated the closed, sealed, and 
watched tomb; and, operating on his own dead, 
mortally mutilated body, taken down from the 
cross, had united in living tissues the mutilated 
vital organs, supplied them with indispensable, vital 
fluids, resuscitated the dead body, and entered into 
living union with it. The proposition, we may see, 
was so astounding that Thomas (like the aforesaid 
devotees of science) could not believe the story of 
the ten ; and did not ; and told them so. That made 
an " issue " between Thomas and the ten — they 
alleging the resurrection of Jesus, and Thomas de- 
nying it. It was an issue of fact, triable by com- 
petent evidence. Thomas evidently believed that 
the ten had been misled by failing to be thorough ; 
for at the very moment of denying their contention, 
he insisted upon such a standard of evidence for 
trying the issue as would surely prevent mistake. 
It was a standard that could be employed by men 
of ordinary intelligence exercising normal powers 
of sight and feeling. He called for the evidence 
which science would require; namely, the actual 
physical inspection of the living body (produced 
as that of Jesus), by seeing with the physical eyes 
and feeling by touch of finger the nail-wounds in 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 281 

the hands and the spear-wound in the side, in order 
to determine indubitably on the identity of such 
living body with the mutilated dead body of Jesus 
taken down from the cross and laid in Joseph's 
rock-hewn tomb. 

In estimating the firmness, the moral fiber, of 
Thomas as displayed in adhering to his convictions, 
we must consider what the issue between Thomas 
and the ten meant. It meant discord, confusion, and 
rupture in the apostolic band. But that did not 
deter Thomas. The issue was not a trivial one. 
It meant a serious crisis in Christianity itself. 
While that issue remained undetermined, it threat- 
ened failure to the Christian dispensation, and fail- 
ure to the Church which Christ had founded, and 
for the preservation of which he had given his 
divine promise and pledge that the Gates of Hell 
should not prevail against it — a promise he had 
come back from the Father to perform. But noth- 
ing of all this and cognate matter deterred Thomas 
from announcing his conviction and resolutely ad- 
hering to it, as- he did, on that second day of the 
week, and on the third, and on the fourth, and 
throughout all the days of that week. No devotee 
of science disbelieving the resurrection of Jesus 
could have stood more firmly to his disbelief, or 



282 Miracle and Science 

insisted upon a surer standard of evidence by 
which to try the issue, than did Thomas. 

Due consideration of this appearance, of Jesus 
in this connection requires that we take into our 
thought the transcendent fact that the Master 
knew minutely all the foregoing and associated 
matters, and contemplated the situation with di- 
vine solicitude. From what was in fact done, we 
are justified in concluding that in the counsels of 
Heaven, in the judgment of Deity, it became neces- 
sary and was essential for the promotion of the 
Christian dispensation and the preservation of the 
Church of Christ, that the issue between Thomas 
and the ten should be brought to the ordeal of trial 
before them and determined by competent object- 
ive evidence, viz. the production of the living body 
of Jesus, with the wounds of his hands and of his 
side, for physical inspection. Therefore, on the 
first day of the week succeeding the resurrection, 
when the eleven apostles were together, Jesus 
stood in the midst of them with the salutation of 
" Peace." Forthwith, in recognition of the issue 
between Thomas and the ten, the Master com- 
menced the trial. This he did by offering evidence 
in conformity with the standard Thomas had 
insisted upon as required, i.e. the presentation of 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 283 

the living body, with its nail-wounds and spear- 
wounds, for actual inspection, for identification, as 
his own, of the living with the dead body taken 
from the cross. Jesus said to Thomas, " Reach 
hither thy finger, and see my hands; and reach 
hither thy hand, and put it into my side " (John 
20:27, Am. Rev.). This command coming to 
Thomas from Jesus his King, we may assume, was 
therefore literally obeyed. 

But, not pressing that view expressly, this is 
certain : such actual, adequate inspection was made 
of the wounds on the living body of Jesus, present- 
ed for inspection, that it was indubitably identi- 
fied with the dead, mutilated body which was on 
the cross at Calvary and thence removed to Joseph's 
sepulcher. The evidence and the trial proved the 
allegation of the ten that the transcendent miracle 
of the resurrection of Jesus from death on the cross 
was indubitable verity. This evidence totally re- 
versed Thomas's conviction, and in that evidence 
he saw his resurrected Lord. Thomas's verdict was 
expressed in worship, " My Lord and my God." 
The fact that Thomas instantly yielded to the direct 
objective proof is evidence that he had not been 
merely wilfully stubborn in his conviction and 
disbelief. The evidence of the resurrection of Jesus 



284 Miracle and Science 

was conclusive. The proof of that fact was demon- 
stration. We know that formerly the word 
" demonstration " was restricted to describing math- 
ematical proofs. But better apprehension of the 
subject of proof and evidence has resulted in giv- 
ing a signification to the word according to which 
a demonstration is " any proof which leaves no 
room for reasonable doubt" (vide Cent Diet.). 
Such proof is also called " full proof." * 

Tested by the standards and ordeals of jural 
science by which questions of fact are ascertained 
and demonstrated in contested questions of right 
between man and man in courts of justice, the 
resurrection of Jesus stands a demonstrated fact. 

Furthermore, facts are always fundamental, pri- 
mary, and rule supreme over all theories, hypo- 
theses, and presuppositions. The whole retinue of 
such devices is demolished, shown to be naught 
but mere figments of speculative fancies, whenever 
contradictory facts emerge in any investigation. 

7. We next notice a meeting of such importance 
that, in connection with the Last Supper, the eve- 
ning before the crucifixion, Jesus ordained it to be 
held on a mountain in Galilee. "After I am risen 

1 Kane v. Hibernia F. Ins. Co. 36 N. J. L. 450; Starkie 
on Ev. 817. 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 285 

again, I will go before you into Galilee " (Matt. 26 : 
39). Foreseeing the dismay and obliviousness that 
his awful death would produce in his disciples, Je- 
sus, as already noted, commissioned his angel that 
rolled away the stone from the tomb when Jesus 
arose, to stay by the tomb, and communicate with 
the disciples, and bring to their minds the appointed 
meeting. The angel executed the commission, say- 
ing to the women, " Go quickly, and tell the dis- 
ciples .... he goeth before you into Galilee ; there 
ye shall see him " (Matt. 28 : 7, 8). Later the same 
forenoon the Master through the women repeated 
the notification to the bewildered disciples, " Go tell 
my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there 
shall they see me " (Matt. 28 : 10). Notice that the 
apostles are not named separately by the angel or 
the Lord. The repetition of the notice, and by the 
Master himself, implies urgency and the impor- 
tance of the transaction which took place at the 
meeting on the mountain where Jesus " appointed 
them." It was of transcendent importance, in fact 
nothing less than the act of Jesus in giving the 
great commission to his disciples. Obedient to 
Christ's command, " above five hundred brethren " 
(1 Cor. 15 : 6) attended at " the mountain Jesus had 
appointed them " ; 



286 Miracle and Science 

" and Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All 
power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go 
ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them 
in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of 
the Holy Ghost : teaching them to observe all things 
whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am 
with you alway, even unto the end of the world " 
(Matt. 28:18, 19, 20). 

Evidently the meeting was not held the day of 
the resurrection. The suggestion seems germane, 
that anything in its nature preliminary would be 
transacted before the great meeting at which the 
great commission should be proclaimed. The Mas- 
ter's recorded activities occupied the day and eve- 
ning of the day of his resurrection. 

The meeting in Galilee was an important meeting 
for another reason, namely, that being announced 
and appointed for " disciples " and " brethren " and 
the invitation extended to all, it would give oppor- 
tunity for many to meet and see the miracle of the 
risen Jesus, who no longer lived among men as 
Lazarus did after he was restored, but appeared in 
miracle and disappeared in miracle. On the face of 
matters, and by the conditions, it was important that 
the preordained and doubly notified meeting should 
be held as soon as preliminary and instant matters 
were disposed of. When Jesus had indubitably 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 287 

proved his resurrection to all the eleven apostles on 
the evening of the second Sunday, such time had 
arrived, and we may conclude that " then the eleven 
disciples went away into Galilee into a mountain 
where Jesus had appointed them" (Matt. 28: 16). 
These suggestions have been made, because some 
commentators have favored placing that meeting 
later, and subsequent to the appearance of Jesus de- 
scribed in John 21. 

We think the suggestion made harmonizes with 
a meeting held immediately after the second Sun- 
day evening. Dr. Taylor adopts this view, and, in 
discussing the miracle described in John 21, sees, 
in the journeying of the apostles to the meeting on 
the mountain in Galilee, an explanation of how and 
why Peter, James, and John, and Thomas, and Na- 
thanael, and two other disciples (whom Lightfoot 
holds were Andrew and Philip) were away from 
Jerusalem, although Jesus, as recorded by Luke, 
had ordered them, " Tarry ye in the city of Jeru- 
salem until ye be endued with power from on high " 
(Luke 24:49). Dr. Taylor considers the two no- 
tices by the angel and by the Lord (Matt. 28:7, 
10), and says: 

" In obedience to this repeated injunction, the 
same evangel informs us that ' the eleven disciples 



2£8 Miracle and Science 

went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Je- 
sus had appointed them' (Matt. 28:16). These 
statements explain how the disciples named by John 
(John 21) came to be in the neighborhood of the 
lake (Tiberias) with the shores of which they were 
so well acquainted." x 

MIRACLE AND LESSON — SEA OF TIBERIAS 

8. Jesus appeared to seven disciples at the sea 
of Tiberias (John 21:1-19). From the evidence 
already discussed, this appearance was evidently 
subsequent to the meeting on the mountain in Gal- 
ilee. The seven were the apostles Peter, James, 
John, Thomas, and Nathanael. Two others are not 
named. Lightfoot, cited with apparent approval by 
Trench, supposes the other two were Andrew and 
Philip, 2 who were of Bethsaida, the city of Peter 
(John 2:24), on the shore of this lake. In this 
view, here were seven apostles, a majority of the 
whole band. Judas being dead, only four others, 
Matthew, James, the son of Alphseus, Simon the 
Zealot, and Judas brother of James, were absent, 
presumably at Jerusalem, where the Master, on the 
evening of his resurrection, had expressly ordered 
the whole band of eleven to tarry (Luke 24:49). 

1 Miracles of our Saviour, p. 439. 

2 Trench on Miracles, p. 363. 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 289 

That command would not be violated by a trip taken 
to comply with the other command, to join with all 
disciples in a special meeting with the Lord on the 
mountain in Galilee, certainly not if, after the meet- 
ing, they promptly returned to Jerusalem. 

Peter was a man of family, had a house on the 
shore of the lake, at which his wife's mother was 
healed of a fever by Jesus' miracle (Matt. 8 : 5-14). 
A score of years after the miracle we are consider- 
ing, Peter's wife is mentioned as accompanying him 
on his missionary journeys (1 Cor. 9:5). It is in- 
ferable that Peter still had a house for his family at 
Capernaum or Bethsaida near the lake, a natural 
place of rendezvous of the seven if they chanced to 
be in the neighborhood, as in fact they were. Three 
years before, when called by the Lord, Peter, James, 
and John were partners in carrying on the quite im- 
portant business of fishing on the lake, or sea, as it 
was often called (Luke 5 : 10). The vessels required 
for fishing were called ships. The nets and ships 
were of such size as to require quite a force of men 
to operate them, as, in the instant case, seven men 
who toiled all night. When Peter, James, and John 
were called by Jesus to be his disciples, three years 
before, they brought their ships to land, and " for- 
sook all, and followed him " (Luke 5 : 11). 



290 Miracle and Science 

Presumably those substantial ships, then left, 
had been cared for and probably used by Zebedee, 
father of James and John, or by Zebedee's ser- 
vants, and were at moorings, and with their equip- 
ment of nets and apparatus available, and might 
properly be taken and used by Peter and his former 
partners. The seven were not yet converted from 
their utterly false conception of Messiah's kingdom 
as an earthly, political kingdom, whose honors and 
emoluments they expected to enjoy as reward for 
having left all to follow Jesus at his call. The 
leaven of the allurements of the conception of the 
kingdom persisted long after this miracle on the 
shore of the lake, as has been seen, even at the mo- 
ment of Jesus' ascension. 

In examining the record and evidence, to extract 
its value and its force in showing the miracles of 
God integral and constituent in his economy of 
grace and its effect in this particular instance, we 
may contemplate these seven apostles as having at- 
tended the meeting with Jesus on the mountain in 
Galilee, and having returned on the way back to 
Jerusalem as far as Peter's house by the lake. At 
that meeting on the mountain, nothing had been 
done for that alluring kingdom which they coveted 
and hoped for. On the contrary, in the great com- 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 291 

mission, Jesus had enjoined upon them altruistic 
sacrifice, a constant, continuous self-denial to the 
end of life. 

Before the crucifixion, the apostles, and presum- 
ably their families, had been adequately supported 
by the people among whom they labored. Jesus, 
it seems, cared for his mother, and on the cross 
committed to John the support which he was no 
longer to provide, and there is no hint of any mira- 
cle of Jesus to support his mother. At the Last 
Supper, in response to Jesus' question, the apostles 
said they had not lacked support. But now when 
seven consulted at Peter's place, their Master had 
been disgraced, executed as a malefactor, and the 
apostles were not carrying on any mission ; in fact, 
were not fit for such work. Besides, the injunction 
to " tarry at Jerusalem " implied cessation of ser- 
vice for an interval of indefinite and uncertain time ; 
hence they were deriving no support from the 
people. 

The act and language of Peter in announcing 
what he had determined, implies that something had 
been canvassed and considered by the seven. The 
situation corroborates that inference. There was 
before the seven this situation, — their families to 
be supported and their own wants to be supplied. 



292 Miracle and Science 

They were enjoined to tarry at Jerusalem indefi- 
nitely, and until some mysterious, unexplained 
thing should happen. Nothing was doing for the 
kingdom ; all was vague and mysterious. They had 
lately been disappointed by the failure of Jesus to 
establish the kingdom, disappointed with an awful, 
tragic, overwhelming disappointment. Would an- 
other disappointment again overwhelm them? 

Clearly, the facts existing, the situation, and cir- 
cumstances were adequate to cause the seven to con- 
sult and consider whether duty required they should 
hold on indefinitely in uncertainty with the possibility 
of another tragic disappointment, devote themselves 
to the drastic altruistic service of the great com- 
mission, with the moral certainty that they should 
in the end be stoned, crucified, or murdered in some 
equally revolting manner ; or, did not the situation, 
and duty to themselves and those depending on 
them, justify and require that they withdraw from 
the great commission and return to earning a live- 
lihood ? Peter's conclusion was, " I go a fishing." 
The others concurred, saying, " We go with thee " 
(John 21:3). They went, wrought all night, and 
caught nothing. 

The evidence does not compel a conclusion that 
the apostles by going fishing had given up all their 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 293 

missionary hopes and gone back permanently to 
their old employment. Nor can the suggestion be 
approved that the act was a laudable example o£ be- 
ing diligent while "tarrying" as the Master com- 
manded, for that suggestion does not measure up to 
the dignity and importance of a miracle of Christ, 
wrought then, as always, not for a light or trivial 
reason. Besides, the " tarrying " was ordered defi- 
nitely to be with the whole band together " in the 
city of Jerusalem." But the situation does necessi- 
tate the conclusion that the act and step taken, was 
away from and aside from what the Master had ex- 
pressly commanded, and like meddling with a 
switch, which, if not corrected, would turn the 
apostles away from, and cause in the result neglect 
and abandonment of, the great commission — the 
Christian service to which they had been called and 
ordained. We must conclude that, in the judgment 
of Jesus, the step Peter and the others took was 
such an error that it required correction, and the 
miracles he wrought the morning after that fruit- 
less fishing were the means he deemed necessary to 
accomplish it. 

Jesus' appearance was a miracle. By his com- 
mand the other miracle of a great draught of fishes 
was wrought, and the apostles learned it was Jesus 



294 Miracle and Science 

talking with them from the shore. The further 
miracle was food prepared, with which the Master 
nourished the men who had toiled all night. Then 
the Master availed himself of the opportunity he 
had created by his miracles, to teach his great les- 
son, then and there, essential to the saving of his 
Church, and to hold as well as fit the apostles for 
their service in his dispensation. 

THE LESSON TAUGHT 

The Master's first question was, " Simon, son of 
Jonas, lovest thou me more than these ? " A com- 
parison is instituted. The subject contemplated in 
the question is indicated by the word " these," 
which does not necessarily mean persons nor neces- 
sarily mean things ; may mean either. The context 
does not show the real subject brought into com- 
parison by the question. Many commentators 
hold that the question inquired whether Peter loved 
Jesus more than did James or John or the other 
four. But is not such unnecessary inference be- 
littling, if not degrading, to a just conception of the 
Lord, i.e., to assume he would come out of heaven 
and work a miracle to ask if one apostle loved him 
better or more than another apostle loved him? 

Although the word " these " does not definitely 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 295 

refer to what, figuratively expressed, would stand 
for the ship's equipment and apparatus, as de- 
scribing Peter's life employment and worldly busi- 
ness, yet all agree the word " these " may thus refer 
to the instruments of that life business. But we are 
not shut up to the word " these " alone, in ascer- 
taining the Master's thought and lesson. The word 
"these" was of course the designated subject of 
comparison, but the force, grip, and leverage of the 
comparison was in the fulcrum " love!' What did 
the Master mean by love of an apostle? The Mas- 
ter had told Peter and the rest of the apostles what 
he meant by " love " — told it with triple emphasis : 

" If ye love me, keep my commandments. . . . He 
that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he 
it is that loveth me. ... If a man love me, he will 
keep my words" (John 14:21, 23). 

The Master here makes obedience to him the test 
of love, and the standard of comparison by which 
the degree of love of Christ is to be measured. The 
seven had disobeyed. They were not tarrying at 
Jerusalem as commanded. Jesus had commissioned 
and ordained Peter to life service as a minister of his 
gospel, and Peter had accepted the ordination. But 
Peter, as leader, had " tarried " away from Jerusa- 
lem, was in fact disobedient, and had taken up with 



296 Miracle and Science 

his old work. Jesus' injunction to Peter on receiv- 
ing his answer brought Peter back to obedience, and 
showed the lesson of the miracle, " Feed my sheep/' 
You have commenced a deviation which, if not cor- 
rected, will take you out of the pastorate. In the 
two other questions the Master omitted the compar- 
ison. The force of all the questions may be seen in 
each of the three injunctions Jesus gives to each of 
Peter's three answers. It was in calling Peter and 
his associates to the proof of their love, that is, 
obedient service. The lesson in this episode was in 
calling back his disciples to proof of their love by 
obedience and from surrendering the great commis- 
sion and going back to a worldly life. 

9. He appeared to the apostle James (1 Cor. 
15:7). No special lesson accompanied this mira- 
cle. It was a power in strengthening faith in Jesus. 

Section VI 

ASCENSION AND PENTECOST 

10. Finally, forty days after his resurrection, 
Jesus appeared to the eleven apostles and went with 
them to the Mount of Olives, and after a most im- 
portant discourse the ascension occurred. Jesus, 
the night before the crucifixion, had told the apos- 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 297 

ties that he had many things to tell them, but that 
they could: not bear them then. But he promised 
them, that when he went away, he would send to 
them the Holy Spirit ; and " when he, the Spirit of 
truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth " 
(John 16 : 13). At the end of forty days after the 
resurrection, as he is about to depart, the matter of 
the further instruction of the apostles is remitted, to 
be communicated by the Holy Spirit. Jesus puts the 
pressure of his authority upon the apostles to pro- 
duce in them such receptivity of heart as should 
prepare them for the enlightening work of the Holy 
Spirit. This was wrought in the apostles, who 
" continued with one accord in prayer " during the 
ten days between the ascension and the day of 
Pentecost ; for on that day the apostles were trans- 
formed men. The great error that had, as it were, 
enslaved the apostles, i.e., love of and stubborn ad- 
herence to the false idea of the earthly kingdom in 
which they were to share, had persisted, and sur- 
vived all the teaching and command of the Master, 
up to the last, even his ascension. 

TRANSFORMATION OF THE APOSTLES 

But on the day of the Pentecost, the triumphant 
note of Peter's preaching, and of all the apostles, 



298 Miracle and Science 

excluded any reference to the earthly political king- 
dom. President Weston x says of the apostles on 
and after the day of Pentecost : 

" What wonderful transformation is here ? Trans- 
formation mental, moral, spiritual. To these Gal- 
ileans a new nature has been imparted. They are 
new creatures of Christ Jesus. The old indecision, 
ignorance, timidity, weakness have vanished. Spir- 
itual illumination, fearlessness, strength have taken 
possession and these men have become aggressive 
and triumphant. They have been lifted to a higher 
plane and a loftier sphere. What a spiritual grasp 
is theirs ! How clear their vision of divine things ! 
They open the Old Testament scriptures and ex- 
pound the dealings of God with clear apprehension. 
They look forward to the future as it glows in the 
light of the purposes of God, and unfold them to 
their hearers." 

The transformation astonished the rulers of the 
Jews, the learned and people in authority, who, 
knowing especially that the apostles were unlearned 
and ignorant men, marveled (Acts 4: 13). Instead 
of the old enslavement of love and devotion to the 
earthly, political kingdom and its emoluments and 
honor, Peter, foremost of the apostles, could, as he 
finally did, voice his conversion from the false con- 
ception to his new love of Christ and of Christ's 
1 Bibliotheca Sacra, Oct. 1900, p. 700. 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 299 

spiritual kingdom, in the following comprehensive 
exhortation : 

" Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue ; 
and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge tem- 
perance; and to temperance patience; and to pa- 
tience godliness ; and to godliness brotherly kind- 
ness ; and to brotherly kindness charity. . . . For so 
an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundant- 
ly into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour 
Jesus Christ" (2 Pet. 1:5-11). 

The transformation of the apostles from abject 
fear and dismay had been wrought by the miracles 
of Jesus and the lessons accompanying and grow- 
ing out of, and indissolubly connected with, the 
miracles. In fact, the instruction could not be 
borne before the crucifixion. That and the resur- 
rection were required as facts and factors in Christ's 
gospel, to fit the apostles to know the truth he 
would teach. The initiative in this transformation 
was the miracle of Jesus' resurrection. That mir- 
acle alone, it seems, was utterly insufficient. But 
the auxiliary miracles, concluding with the miracle 
of the instruction and teaching of the Holy Spirit, 
during the, ten days subsequent to the ascension of 
the Lord and on the Pentecostal day, had trained, 
disciplined, and taught the apostles and disciples 
these necessary truths, and enabled them to think 



300 Miracle and Science 

of their Master, when performing the great com- 
mission, as absent and yet living; as invisible and 
yet near them ; as risen to a new life and yet retain- 
ing the old nature and even the old though now 
glorified body, which they loved ; as exalted but still 
the same, so that they were prepared to go forth 
and proclaim the glorified Son of God and crowned 
King of Israel, yet the man of Nazareth and the- 
Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 1 

Section VII 

MIRACLE LESSON — SALVATION FOR GENTILES ALSO 

Further proof that miracle is integral and con- 
stituent in God's economy of grace — necessary and 
indispensable in indoctrinating his ministers in his 
service — is shown in miracle subsequent to the 
day of Pentecost. Salvation for " whomsoever 
will " was yet to be learned. With all the auxiliary 
miracles, instructions, and counsels of Jesus and 
the Holy Spirit given to the apostles, their theolog- 
ical education to fit them as ministers of Christ and 
the Christian religion was in one respect fundamen- 
tally defective. 

Although the old conception of the apostles re- 
garding the kingdom of the Messiah was purged 

1 See J. T. Purves, art. " Jesus," Davis, Bible Diet. 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 301 

of its materialism, its purely earthly and polit- 
ical character, it was not purged of its exclusive- 
ness as being a kingdom for Hebrews only. A 
further education was indispensable to secure the 
Church of Christ from the baneful spirit of Phari- 
saical self-righteousness, based on physical descent 
from Abraham or its legal equivalent, adoption 
sealed by the rite of circumcision. That spirit 
grew naturally out of the great favors that for 
nearly two millenniums Jehovah had shown to 
Abraham and his family. As developed it pro- 
duced hypocrisy and self-righteousness, which des- 
pised and held in contempt all outside of Abraham's 
family. It produced a spirit naturally allied with, 
and easily, perhaps unconsciously, becoming allied 
with the spirit that controlled what our Master 
called the " Gates of Hell." 

That spirit grew until it evolved the doctrine 
taught by those going out of Judsea to foreign peo- 
ples, as at Antioch : " Except ye be circumcised 
after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved " 
(Acts 15: 1). The apostles were afflicted with this 
error. After they had wrought as missionaries 
about eight years, and with all the teaching of Jesus 
and leadings of the Holy Spirit, they had not dis- 
cerned this most serious and fundamental error. It 



302 Miracle and Science 

became the judgment of Deity that the error should 
be cured. 

Miracle and object-lesson were adopted as the 
means that should, " once for all," demonstrate and 
teach the true doctrine on the subject. 

Hence the Holy Spirit taught the truth by a 
threefold miracle, or three miracles unified in 
function, in teaching, and establishing one truth or 
lesson. 

1. At his house in Csesarea, the Holy Spirit ap- 
peared to Cornelius, a Roman, a devout man, who 
feared God, and ruled his house accordingly. He 
commanded Cornelius : " Send men to Joppa, and 
call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter. He 
lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by 
the seaside ; he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to 
do" (Acts 10:1-6). 

2. The further miracle was an object-lesson by 
the Holy Spirit to Peter on the housetop of Simon 
the tanner, about noon of the next day. It was an 
object-lesson by a vision of beasts and creeping 
things, including such as were by Old Testament 
Scriptures unclean, and commanded Peter to kill 
and eat, to which Peter protested that, by the cere- 
monial law, the living creatures, or some of them, 
were unclean ; that he had heretofore observed that 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 303 

law, and showed that, as a godly man, he felt 
bound by it. 

To this, the voice of the Holy Spirit replied, with 
the final authority of Deity : " What God hath 
cleansed, that call not thou common. This was 
done thrice" (Acts 10:9-16). While Peter was 
perplexed at the meaning of the vision, Cornelius' 
messengers called for Peter, and the Holy Spirit 
communicated with Peter and bade him go with 
Cornelius' messengers, " doubting nothing, for I 
have sent them" (Acts 10:19, 20). 

3. On the morrow, Peter, obedient to the behest 
of the Holy Spirit, but accompanied by Christians, 
believers in the abovementioned doctrine as to the 
absolute necessity of circumcision in order to salva- 
tion, attended at Cornelius' house at Csesarea. Cor- 
nelius informed them of the communication of the 
Holy Spirit, that he should call for Peter, who 
should instruct him, and told Peter, We are 
here to learn " all things that are commanded thee 
of God" (Acts 10:24-33). 

Peter's reply was a short sermon, which in its 
essentials was a witnessing for Christ and his 
salvation, but distinctly connecting the salvation 
through Jesus Christ to the Word of God, the Old 
Testament Scriptures : " To him give all the proph- 



304 Miracle and Science 

ets witness, that through his name whosoever be- 
lieveth in him shall receive remission of sins " (Acts 
10 : 34-43). " While Peter yet spake these words," 
the miracle of authentication or confirmation was, 
in the presence and knowledge of the whole assem- 
bly, wrought; for 

" the Holy Spirit fell on all them which heard the 
word. And they of the circumcision which believed 
were astonished, as many as came with Peter, be- 
cause that on the Gentiles also was poured out the 
gift of the Holy Spirit. For they heard them speak 
with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered 
Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should 
not be baptized, which have received the Holy Spirit 
as well as we ? And he commanded them to be bap- 
tized in the name of the Lord" (Acts 10:44-48). 

For eight years, in preaching Christ, the apostles 
had not attained this truth. To human view, they 
never would attain it, unless given them in a way 
that was indubitably from God, — indubitably the 
teaching of Deity by objective evidence, by miracle. 
God through Moses gave command to the Jews to 
love their neighbors as themselves (Lev. 19:18). 
This the Jews had construed; reasoning that the 
command was for neighbors as such especially, and 
that enemies were the opposite of neighbors; 
hence should have opposite treatment. 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 305 

It required the authority of Jesus to correct the 
error. He said : " Ye have heard that it hath been 
said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine 
enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies " 
(Matt. 5:43, 44). And Christ was a miracle, 
Deity incarnate living with men in human form. 
But the narrow, false doctrines that had controlled 
the apostles were cured. Peter learned that Christ's 
sacrifice, atonement, and salvation were for every 
penitent soul in "all the world" (Luke 24:15), 
extended to "all nations" (Matt. 28:19), "every 
creature " in " all the world " (Mark 16 : 15) ; and, 
in the last words of Jesus, " unto the uttermost parts 
of the earth" (Acts 1:8). 

The threefold miracle and the plain distinct com- 
munication in human speech — not sentiment, but 
spoken words, definite and clear — were effective, 
and produced full conversion of Peter to the truth 
of Christ. The miracles were the testimony of God. 
To human apprehension, the ingrained bias and 
prejudice in favor of the children of Israel as God's 
chosen people, which had been abundantly taught 
by God's prophets and apparently approved by mir- 
acle and great deliverances, could not have been 
overcome otherwise than by the miracle of God, 
wrought therefor. The fact that God wrought the 



306 Miracle and Science 

threefold miracle therefor, is competent and suf- 
ficient evidence to prove that proposition. 

Although Peter was fully converted, he as yet 
stood alone among the apostles in that conversion. 
So far as he was concerned, the assault of the Gates 
of Hell, through that gross error, against the 
Church of Christ had not prevailed. 

BRETHREN ESTABLISHED 

It was essential that the other apostles and 
believers should also be established in the doctrine 
of the absolute universality of salvation offered 
to penitent souls. Jesus had commanded Peter: 
" When thou art converted, strengthen the breth- 
ren " (Luke 22:32). The Greek word rendered 
" strengthen " is as frequently rendered " establish " 
as strengthen. 

There seems to be no reason why Jesus' com- 
mand to Peter should not apply to this last con- 
version. At any rate when Peter returned to 
Jerusalem from Csesarea, converted in the episode 
at Cornelius' house, they that were of the circum- 
cision, " contended with him " for what he had 
done. But Peter rehearsed the whole matter pa- 
tiently and fully justified what he had done, basing 
his justification, as he ought to and did, on the mir- 



Miracle Integral in Christianity 307 

acle — the testimony of God. Peter obeyed Jesus- 
command, and established the brethren in the truth ; 
for " when they heard these things, they held their 
peace and glorified God, saying, Then hath God 
also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life" 
(Acts 11:18). 

The evidence examined by the standards of sci- 
ence, the science of jurisprudence, is submitted to 
the candid reader. The evidence seems clearly to 
establish affirmative answers to all the several ques- 
tions propounded in the introductory chapter, in- 
cluding clearly the fundamental doctrine that mir- 
acle is integral and constituent in God's economy of 
grace — his moral government of men. 



CHAPTER VIII 

CESSATION OF MIRACLES— WHY 

"God also bearing witness, both with signs and won- 
ders, and divers miracles." Hebrews 2 : 4. 

We are examining the record, by rules of juris- 
prudence, to ascertain what the evidence establishes 
generally in regard to miracles. In the presence of 
clear knowledge of zvoes that, to human view, 
God's miracles could, and only his miracles could, 
relieve, it is but natural that the question should 
arise, as it so constantly does in burdened souls, 
Why are not open, public, and undoubted miracles, 
that could and would relieve such woes, wrought in 
our day or since the decease of the apostles and 
immediate disciples of Christ, as were wrought dur- 
ing Christ's earthly ministry or during the lives of 
the apostles ? Does the record and evidence furnish 
any answer to that question? Confining our inves- 
tigation more particularly to those miracles, we ob- 
serve that the conception of miracle as disclosed by 
the Bible is a wonderful, supernatural, and super- 
human transaction wrought pursuant to the special 
fiat of Deity. Intelligent purpose inheres in the 



Cessation of Miracles 309 

fiat. Hence function in each miracle is determined 
by the purpose for which it is wrought. 

There is no other rule or standard than the will 
and purpose of God, for determining function of 
miracle in any case. Only Infinite Wisdom deter- 
mines when and why a miracle shall be wrought. 
We have seen in previous pages that the miracles 
wrought by Christ had their functions in, and were 
wrought constantly and expressly to attest, the per- 
son of Christ, his divinity, revelation and doctrine 
and gospel of salvation. Also, we have seen that, 
in the judgment of right reason, and to human 
view, the evidential force and effect of those mira- 
cles were indispensable in establishing those truths 
in regard to Christ and his Church and the Chris- 
ian religion; and that without those miracles 
Christ's mission, religion, and church would not 
have survived his death on the cross. The apostles 
also knew the supreme importance of that miracle 
evidence with a vividness we probably cannot or do 
not often apprehend. The apostles not only knew 
with distinct realization the indispensableness of 
the miracles in so attesting Christ and his mission 
during his earthly ministry, but more profoundly, if 
possible, they knew the indispensableness of mira- 
cles to be wrought to attest the apostles and im- 



310 Miracle and Science 

mediate disciples of Christ, in taking up and pro- 
mulgating Christianity, establishing the Church of 
Christ, executing the great commission. 

The apostles were arrested for teaching a funda- 
mental fact of Christianity, the resurrection of 
Jesus. Although not then punished, they were 
" straitly " commanded that they speak thence- 
forth to no man the gospel message of Jesus. Be- 
ing let go, they reported to the company of the 
apostles and disciples their experience at the hands 
of the Sanhedrin. The record is, the company of 
apostles and disciples lifted up their voice to God 
with one accord, and prayed earnestly : " Grant unto 
thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak 
thy word, [how?] by stretching forth thy hand to 
heal: and that signs and wonders may be done by 
the Name of thy holy child Jesus." That prayer was 
then and there granted (Acts 4:29, 30-31). The 
record of the fulfilment of that answer to that prayer 
of the disciples is : "And by the hands of the apos- 
tles were many signs and wonders wrought among 
the people. . . . And believers were the more added 
to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women " 
(Acts 5: 12-24). Paul and Barnabas carrying the 
mission to the pagans in Asia Minor at Iconium 
spoke " boldly in the Lord, who gave testimony [as 



Cessation of Miracles 311 

Barnabas with the other apostles had, as just 
stated, prayed for] unto the word of his grace, and 
granted signs and wonders to be done by their 
hands" (Acts 14:3). 

At Ephesus, another pagan city, Paul baptized 
men, " and when Paul had laid his hand upon them 
the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spake 
with tongues, and prophesied. . . . And God wrought 
special miracles by the hand of Paul " (x\cts 19 : 6. 
11). In vindicating his ministry as an apostle of 
Christ to the Corinthians, Paul insisted on the mir- 
acles he wrought among them as the indubitable. 
proof of his apostolic office. " Truly the signs of 
an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, 
in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds" (2 Cor. 
12:12). That exhibition of power is evidently 
what Paul designates in his First Epistle to the 
Corinthians (2:1-5) that in " declaring " unto 
them the " testimony of God " his preaching was 
not with " enticing words of man's wisdom " (as at 
Athens on Mars' hill), "but in demonstration of 
the Spirit and of pozcer: that your faith should not 
stand in the wisdom of men, but in the pozver of 
God." " The power of God " manifested in mira- 
cles was " testimony of God." Through Paul that 
testimonv was communicated to the Corinthians. 



312 Miracle and Science 

Paul writing to the Roman Christians glories in 
the fact that he had been permitted to be a minis- 
ter of Christ Jesus unto the Gentiles : 

" I have therefore my glorying in Christ Jesus 
in things pertaining to God. For I will not dare to 
speak of any things, save those which Christ 
wrought through me, for the obedience of the Gen- 
tiles by word and deed, in the power of signs and 
wonders, in the power of the Holy Spirit" (Rom. 
15:17-20, Am. Rev.). 

The Evangelist Mark records the substance and 
result in describing the work of the apostles and 
immediate disciples of Christ in executing the 
great commission after his ascension. "And they 
went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord 
working with them, and confirming the word with 
signs following" (Mark 16:20). More literally 
scholars say, " Through the accompanying signs." * 
Reviewing the work of the apostles in the Epistle 
to the Hebrews, the writer exalts the " great salva- 
tion, which at the first began to be spoken by the 
Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that 
heard him; God also bearing them witness both 
with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, 
and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own 
will" (Heb. 2:3, 4). 

1 Morrison, Com. on Mark, p. 463. 



Cessation of Miracles 313 

" NOT AS I WILL, BUT A5 THOU WILT " 

Does not this last clause, miracles wrought accord- 
ing to God's omniscient judgment and will, furnish 
us the key which opens to us that which answers 
the question at the head of this chapter? The Bible 
record shows,, and it is the consensus of believers, 
that miracles are wrought by God when there is in 
his judgment adequate cause and occasion for them. 
God does not work them except for great cause 
and for religious purposes. They belong to the 
history of redemption: and there is no genuine 
miracle without an adequate occasion for it, in 
God's redemptive revelation of himself. Miracles 
are wrought only in accordance with the judgment 
as well as will of the All-wise. Because the record 
shows that in almost all the miracles wrought by 
Christ they were beneficent in relieving human dis- 
tress, the conclusion may have been, or is often 
reached, that benefit to the distressed is (if the ex- 
pression may be used") the normal function of 
God's miracles, and that when wrought upon per- 
sons the function is beneficent to the individual. 

But a brief consideration of the record will show 
the error of such conclusion. If we assume, as a 
liberal basis of the rate of peopling the earth in 
obedience to the command to multiply and replenish 



314 Miracle and Science 

it, i.e. that the antediluvians doubled in population 
once in fifty years on the average — a basis which, 
in view of the great age they attained and brought 
forth children, seems not unfair — the persons de- 
stroyed by the flood in Noah's time must have been 
more than a hundred million. If we consider other 
cases — like the destruction of the first-born of 
7,000,000 in Egypt when hardly less than 1,000,000 
were destroyed, or the destruction of Sennacherib's 
host of 185,000, and other recorded instances — we 
shall see that miracles that have operated on per- 
sons to relieve distress are but a fraction in com- 
parison with all persons upon whose lives miracles 
have operated disastrously and destructively. 

THE MASTER'S LESSON AT NAZARETH 

The record discloses plainly that the existence of 
sufferings, misery, or woe of human beings cannot 
be truly averred as the immediate direct cause of 
the Bible miracles. Is not this the plain, direct 
teaching and lesson of the Master taught to his 
townspeople at Nazareth, on a Sabbath in the 
early part of his ministry? The record is, after 
Jesus had taught, wrought miracles at Capernaum 
and elsewhere, and, in modern speech, had become 
famous : 



Cessation of Miracles 313 

" He came to Nazareth, where he had been 
brought up : and he entered, as his custom was, into 
the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up to 
read. And there was delivered unto him the book 
of the prophet Isaiah. And he opened the book, 
and found the place where it is written, The Spirit 
of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed 
me to preach good tidings to the poor, he hath sent 
me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliver- 
ance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the 
blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to 
preach the acceptable year of the Lord'' (Luke 4: 
16-19). 

Having read that prophecy of Isaiah, Christ an- 
nounced to his townspeople that he was Messiah — 
the One described in the prophecy as anointed, that 
in his person that Scripture he had just read was 
fulfilled. Miracle was an especial part of that ser- 
mon. Whatever else was considered by the Master 
in the gracious discourse he then gave, has not been 
preserved; but what he taught on the subject of 
miracle, and that alone, is preserved. 

Recognizing the fact that the fame of miracles he 
had wrought at Capernaum had preceded him at 
Xazareth, the Master voiced the expectation or 
hope of his hearers that miracles of healing and 
beneficence such as he had wrought at Capernaum 
might be performed there at Xazareth. That hope 



316 Miracle and Science 

or desire was, however, dealt with by the Master as 
a means of teaching his lesson on the subject we 
are considering in this chapter. 

FOREIGNER FED IN A FAMINE — WHY 

Recognizing the existence of misery, want, and 
disease at indicated dates in the history of Israel, 
Jesus said: 

" But of a truth [verily] I say unto you, There 
were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, 
when the heaven was shut up three years and six 
months, when there came a great famine over all 
the land; and unto none of them was Elijah sent, 
but only to Zarephath, in the, land of Sidon, unto a 
woman that was a widow." 

This miracle was wrought at the time Ahab and 
his Queen, Jezebel, worshiping Baal, had made 
Baal worship the state religion of Israel. Ahab and 
Jezebel were persecuting with relentless hate and 
death all the godly Israelites. There were 7,000 of 
such godly adherents to Jehovah (1 Kings 19: 18). 
Christ's lesson emphasizes the fact that there were 
many widows and doubtless many among the 7,000 
godly people, yet God's miracle supplying food 
through the famine was wrought not for any of that 
godly 7,000 or any Israelite widow, but for a for- 
eigner in Sidon, outside of Israel. We must re- 



Cessation of Miracles 317 

member that the record shows that God does not 
work a miracle except for adequate cause and for 
a religious purpose in God's redemptive revelation 
of himself. 

Applying these principles to the miracle, we see 
that it was wrought outside of Israel, in Sidon or 
Zidon, among a pagan people, whose king was Eth- 
baal, and Baal was the god of Sidon. Jezebel was 
the daughter of that king Ethbaal, and had induced 
Ahab to make Baal the national god of Israel, and 
to the utmost to dethrone Jehovah, and destroy 
faith in him and in his worship in Israel even to 
the extent of destroying every adherent of Jeho- 
vah. The miracle — the testimony of God — was 
wrought and given to Sidon, the pagan city which 
worshiped the false god that Jezebel was cruelly 
forcing upon Israel. The miracle was Jehovah's 
revelation of himself at the home and nation from 
which Jezebel had brought Baal and Baal worship 
to Israel to supplant Jehovah. 

ANOTHER FOREIGNER, NAAMAN 

Doubtless after Jehovah, by another miracle at 
Carmel, had vindicated his Name, and Elijah as his 
prophet, the 7,000 devout Israelites were increased 
in numbers, and among them were lepers; yet the 



318 Miracle and Science 

Master told his audience at Nazareth : "And there 
were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the 
prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only 
Naaman the Syrian." 

Again the lesson of the Master was, Jehovah 
passed by all the sufferers among the chosen people, 
the Israelites, and wrought the miracle of healing 
leprosy upon one only, and he a foreigner, a Syrian. 
The miracle carried the Name and knowledge of 
Jehovah effectively into a pagan city by the General 
and War Lord of its Ruler. That the miracle 
wrought belief in Naaman that Jehovah was the 
only true God, is evident in the pardon he asks for 
even appearing to join with his King in worship- 
ing Rimmon, the god of Syria and of the temple of 
Damascus (2 Kings 5: 18). 

Christ was responding to the desire of the Naza- 
renes that he should perform a miracle then and 
there, and he answered responsively by stating two 
miracles wrought by Jehovah, emphasizing the sig- 
nificant fact in each case, that relief from suffering 
of human beings was not the essential function or 
purpose of miracle. That was the judgment and 
that was the will of Jehovah, and that was the an- 
swer of the Master to the Nazarenes, and his lesson 
to all, at least in regard to such miracles as the Mas- 



Cessation of Miracles 319 

ter was working at Capernaum, and in his earthly 
ministry, and such as his apostles and immediate 
disciples wrought after his ascension — during the 
apostolic age — to attest Christ, his mission and 
doctrine and his salvation. Why then did miracles, 
such as wrought by Christ and his apostles, cease 
after the decease of those servants and ministers of 
Christ, the termination of the apostolic age? At 
that time the Church of Christ had been established, 
built on Christ its Founder and Foundation. The 
Gates of Hell had not prevailed against it. The 
religion of Christ had been also established, for it 
has ever since gone on, sometimes sadly, but never 
dying, but moving on conquering and to conquer, 
its triumphs constituting justly the wonder of the 
world. 

In accomplishing those great achievements, God's 
gracious ministration of miracles, as his indubitable 
testimony in authenticating Jesus as Christ, and his 
divinity and doctrine and mission of salvation, 
not only wrought as the power of God, but, as we 
have seen in previous pages, was indispensable in 
the establishment of those transcendent achieve- 
ments in religion and the welfare of the race of 
mankind. But God's gracious ministration of mir- 
acles having wrought with the teaching and doc- 



320 Miracle and Science 

trine of the Master and secured those transcendent 
achievements, we do not see any reason against — 
but many, perhaps all, reasons for — the proposi- 
tion, that that gracious ministration of miracles by 
Jehovah should be embraced in the list of the tran- 
scendent works of Jehovah that are within the doc- 
trine heretofore fully stated dira^ " once for all." 
We do not understand that the teaching of the 
Master impairs the verity of Jehovah's promise in 
the second command of the decalogue, that he will 
show " loving kindness unto thousands of them 
[generations] that love him and keep his command- 
ments " (Ex. 20:6, Am. Rev.), a promise and 
providence that is private, pervasive, silent, effect- 
ive, and being constantly fulfilled. Nor does the 
Master's lesson exclude the conclusion that Jehovah 
will (if ever, in his judgment, cause and occasion 
exist) publicly work miracles again, such as were 
wrought by Christ and the apostles in that age. 



CHAPTER IX 

IS MORAL IMPERATIVE A FUNCTION 
OF EVIDENCE 

" If the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and 
every transgression and disobedience received a just re- 
compense of reward; how shall we escape, if we neg- 
lect so great salvation?" Hebrews 2:3. 

When there is presented to man, an intelligent 
moral being, evidence that affects materially his duty 
or his welfare, can he ignore or disregard the evi- 
dence without incurring guilt? In other words, is 
there moral imperative in evidence? Science and 
the Christian religion seem to be in accord in an- 
swering this question. 

ANSWER OF SCIENCE 

The science of jurisprudence responds as follows : 
When a juror is impaneled to serve in an action in 
a court of justice, he assents to the oath admin- 
istered to him, which is substantially in these 
words : 

" You do solemnly swear that you will well and 
truly try the issue in this case [describing it], and 
a true verdict render therein, in accordance with 
the evidence given you in court, — unless discharged 
by the court. So help you God." 



322 Miracle and Science 

Greenleaf, our foremost authority in jurispru- 
dence, in the department of evidence, as already 
noted, declares the law, to which there is no dissent, 
that when evidence is so produced to such juror in 
amount sufficient " to satisfy the mind and conscience 
of a man of common prudence and discretion, 
and so convince him that he would venture to act 
upon that conviction in matters of the highest con- 
cern in his own interest " it complies with the jural 
test of sufficiency. Also : " When we have this de- 
gree of evidence, it is unreasonable to require more." 
"A juror would violate his oath if he should refuse 
to acquit or condemn a person charged with an of- 
fense, where this measure of proof was adduced." 1 
But violation of one's oath, duly required and taken, 
is the very essence of the crime of perjury — a 
crime of gross moral turpitude — sin. That is the 
answer of science. There is moral imperative in 
evidence. 

ANSWER OF RELIGION OF CHRIST 

The answer of religion to the question, whether 
there is moral imperative in evidence, may be dis- 
cerned from the immediate teaching of the Master. 
When he approached the end of his earthly mission, 
1 Greenleaf, Test, of the Evang. pp. 24, 25. 



Moral Imperative in Evidence 323 

Christ announced that it was expedient that he 
should go away, that when he departed he would 
send to men the Holy Spirit. Christ declared a 
function the Holy Spirit would perform, namely, he 
" will convict the world in respect of sin, because 
they believe not on me." Believing " on " Christ is 
believing on him as he is revealed and represented 
in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. It 
includes his attributes, offices, teachings, redemption 
works, sacrificial atonement, resurrection, as the 
Messiah. For brevity we so use the term Messiah. 
Believing this is not simply an act of the will, as 
voluntary. Honest, normal belief is a product : it is 
produced by evidence. Hence the responsibility of 
the soul which sins in not believing evidence is 
not primarily in an arbitrary act of the will; but 
the responsibility is that of failing to give honest, 
intelligent, faithful attention, consideration, and due 
credence to the evidence regarding Christ, his at- 
tributes, offices, teachings, and life, etc., which, 
through the Bible record, Deity presents to man. 

The decision of the Master inherent in his an- 
nouncement of sin, in not believing on him, pro- 
ceeds on the fact that Christ knew that the evidence 
presented in regard to him now found in the Scrip- 
tures — proving Christ to be what he is there rep- 



324 Miracle and Science 

resented to be — is sufficient and ample, and that, if 
duly attended to and considered and given its nor- 
mal effect, it would and will convince an honest, 
sane, intelligent soul that Christ is what the Scrip- 
tures reveal and represent him to be. In this view, 
the verdict of the Holy Spirit is also the verdict of 
Christ, proleptically announced. Christ's teaching 
is that eternal life or its opposite is proposed to each 
human soul on simple terms and conditions which 
Deity prescribes. This involves, and there is inher- 
ent in it, the highest interest and welfare of the soul 
that can possibly be conceived. The Creator has, in 
addition to this, laid on the soul he has created, the 
duty to conform to the conditions on which eternal 
life shall be attained and its opposite avoided. So 
self-interest in man and his duty to God combine 
in requiring every human soul faithfully to appre- 
hend, attend to, consider, and give due credence to 
the evidence that is produced to it to prove Christ 
to be what the Scriptures reveal him to be. Hence 
the condemnation denounced by the Master is for 
failing to heed the evidence, failing to give it the 
consideration it deserves; or rejecting it, and so 
failing or refusing to believe. That failure, neglect, 
or refusal the Master and the Holy Spirit declare 
is sin. 



Moral Imperative in Evidence 325 

This seems to be the answer of religion, which 
the teaching of the Master gives to the question at 
the head of the chapter. The answers of both sci- 
ence and religion seem clear, there is moral impera- 
tive in evidence; that a human soul cannot ignore, 
disregard, or refuse to give due credit to evidence 
which affects its duty or the real interest or welfare 
of the soul without incurring in such act guilt, 
moral turpitude, sin. 

In considering their evidential function (p. 239) 
we saw that miracles were wrought in instances un- 
numbered, fairly described as multitudinous. 1 Mir- 
acles were constantly appealed to by the Master as 
wrought to cause men to believe on him as the Mes- 
siah, the Son of God. 

" Though ye believe not me, believe the works " 
(e>7«) (John 10:38); "Believe me for the very 

1 " Great multitudes followed them, and he healed 
them all" (Matt. 12:15); later, "and great multitudes 
came unto him, having with them the lame, blind, dumb, 
maimed, and many others, . . . and he healed them " 
(Matt. 15:30); later, "and great multitudes followed 
him, and he healed them" (Matt. 19:2); again, "A 
great multitude out of all Judea and Jerusalem, and 
from the sea coasts of Tyre and Sidon, which came to 
hear him, and to be healed of their diseases ; and they 
that were vexed with unclean spirits .... the whole 
multitude sought to touch him, for virtue went out of 
him, and he healed them all" (Luke 6:17-19). See 
ante, pp. 68-76. 



326 Miracle and Science 

works' sake" (John 14:11); "Woe unto thee 
.... Bethsaida for if the mighty works had been 
done in Tyre and Sidon, which were done in you, 
they would have repented long ago, sitting in 
sackcloth and ashes" (Luke 10:13; see too 
Matt. 11:23). 

This is the express teaching of the Master himself. 
Moreover we saw that miracle evidence, super- 
natural proof, was the special and (as disclosed 
by the record) the real ground, the special evidence 
that caused the apostles and disciples to believe on 
Jesus as the Messiah. 

SUPERNATURAL EVIDENCE TO PROVE SUPERNATURAL 
FACTS 

In the nature of things, supernatural evidence 
was indispensable to prove the supernatural fact 
that Jesus was the Messiah. Jural law of grades 
of evidence required it. Supernatural evidence was 
the appropriate proof designed and produced by the 
Master to cause men to believe on him as the Mes- 
siah. These propositions not only stand on solid, 
rational grounds ; but the record demonstrates their 
verity by actual test and trial. At Nazareth, in pub- 
lic assembly, Jesus gave his oral testimony witness- 
ing to his neighbors that he was the Messiah, quot- 
ing the specific prophecy of Isaiah. This failed to 



Moral Imperative in Evidence 327 

carry conviction to his hearers that he was the 
Messiah. They disbelieved it. As refuting the evi- 
dence of Jesus they declared of Jesus, This is the 
carpenter, son of Mary, brother of James and Judas 
and Simon, and his sisters are with us. He is Jo- 
seph's son (Mark 6:3; Luke 4 : 17-22). Although 
they noted the " gracious words " he spoke, their 
disbelief prevailed, and they became so enraged 
with his address before it ended, that they deter- 
mined to kill him (Luke 4: 29). 

Also, when Jesus testified personally to the same 
Messianic truth to the Jews, he was to them a blas- 
phemer. They took stones to kill him, as they said 
expressly, " because that thou, being a man, makest 
thyself God" (John 10:33). It was in the condi- 
tion caused by this very discussion, and in this im- 
mediate connection, that Jesus said of his miracles, 
" Though ye believe not me, believe the works " 
(John 14: 11). Here was recognition that humanity 
requires what God recognized Pharaoh might ra- 
tionally demand, " Show a miracle for you," when 
a supernatural matter is to be verified, by evidence. 
The evidence was therefore mercifully adapted to 
human nature, to the nature of things, as well as to 
jural science. Jesus produced miracle as appro- 
priate, competent, and, as experience demonstrated, 



328 Miracle and Science 

indispensable evidence to prove to men he was the 
Messiah and to cause them to believe on him as 
such. 

Later we shall see that Christ taught his disciples 
directly that this miracle evidence should be used 
by- them as the means and method by which they 
should execute the great commission of causing 
men everywhere to believe on him and become his 
disciples. 

The Greek has three terms to describe miracles. 
They are rendered in our English Bible as follows : 
" Miracles " (£um^et?), " wonders " (repara), and 
u signs " {arjfxeld). 1 These three words occur more 
than three hundred times in the New Testament, 
and what they stand for pervades it throughout. 
On the day of Pentecost, Peter, " filled with the 
Holy Spirit " at the initial moment of commencing 
to execute the great commission, delivered a nota- 
ble discourse condemning his people for crucifying 
Jesus. In that address Peter specified the evidence 
by which, as Peter knew, God had proved to him 
that Jesus was the Messiah; and in it there is no 

1 Dr. Taylor, in his " Miracles of our Saviour," says : 
"A fourth-term description of miracles occurs only in 
John, and there only on the lips of John himself. It is 
(epyn) works," suggesting that, to Christ, miracle was 
only "common or ordinary" (p. 4). 



Moral Imperative in Evidence 329 

thought of any evidence other than the supernat- 
ural, but the supernatural evidence is exhaustively 
described by the three names ; viz. " Ye men of 
Israel, hear these words : Jesus of Nazareth, a man 
approved of God among you, by miracles, wonders, 
and signs, which God did by him in the midst of 
you, as ye yourselves know," ye have slain (Acts 
2:22). As one commentator on the Greek Testa- 
ment says, Peter showed that God had demonstrated 
that Jesus was the Messiah " by every kind of Su- 
pernatural proof." 1 

MIRACLE EVIDENCE ORDAINED FOR THE GREAT 
COMMISSION 

Forty days after the resurrection, the time arrived 
which Christ had predicted, when it was expedient 
that he should " go away " and send the Holy Spirit 
to men. At the final interview, the Master with di- 
vine wisdom, utmost simplicity and brevity, as a last 
command, instructed his immediate disciples how, 
by what means and method, they should execute the 
great commission, and enjoined its use by them; 
viz. " Ye shall be witnesses unto me," everywhere, 
even " unto the uttermost parts of the earth " (Acts 
1:8). 

1 Rev. J. A. Spencer, Greek Testament, English Notes, 
p. 331. 



330 Miracle and Science 

The function of a witness, and his duty also, is 
truly to communicate to others, needing the evi- 
dence, facts and truths the witness has himself 
known, experienced, or actually observed. Hence 
each disciple Christ so instructed in that final' inter- 
view was commanded to labor to cause men to be- 
lieve on Christ and become his disciples, by witness- 
ing to men evidence that had caused such disciple 
himself to believe and follow Christ, which, as we 
have seen in the chapters referred to, was the mir- 
acle evidence, — the supernatural proof which the 
disciples by the last word of the Master were so en- 
joined to witness to men. 

That the apostles and disciples so understood that 
instruction and command is shown by what they 
presently said and did. Within the ten days be- 
tween the ascension (the time the injunction to 
witness was given) and the day of Pentecost, the 
disciples, moved by Peter, chose Matthias, in place 
of Judas, so that he could be a witness unto Christ 
as an apostle, he being qualified because, as Peter 
stated, he had " companied with us all the time that 
the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, begin- 
ning from the baptism of John unto the same day 
when he was taken up from us" (Acts 1: 21, 22). 

Further, on the day of Pentecost, Peter in oral 



Moral Imperative in Evidence 331 

discourse witnessed to the supernatural proof, mir- 
acles, wonders, signs, that he knew caused him to 
believe on Christ, and that witnessing caused 3,000 
souls then, on that day, to believe on Christ, become 
his disciples, and continue steadfast as such (Acts 
2:41, 42). See specific witnessing for Christ. 1 

PERPETUATING THE MIRACLE EVIDENCE 

Because the witnessing " to the uttermost parts 
of the earth " could not be done orally by the dis- 
ciples who especially received the command, they 
provided for so promulgating their testimony by 
perpetuating the evidence, reducing it to written 
depositions. Sixty or seventy years after the ascen- 
sion, John made his deposition as such witness. We 
call it John's gospel: it is really John's deposition. 
Its dominant note throughout is the miracles — the 
supernatural evidence that caused John to believe. 
He summarizes, as before noted, at the end of the 
twentieth chapter: 

" And many other signs did Jesus in the presence 
of his disciples, which are not written in this book ; 
but these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus 
is the Christ, the Son of God ; and that believing ye 
might have life through his name" (ver. 30, 31). 

J Acts 3:15. Illustrations are in evidence continually. 
We cite some (Acts 4:33; 5:32; 10:39; 13:31; 26:16, 
22; 2 Pet. 15:18). 



332 Miracle and Science 

Corresponding depositions of Matthew, Mark, Luke, 
Paul, and associated disciples carry out that last in- 
struction and command of the Master. 

MIRACLE EVIDENCE PREPONDERANT 

Examination of the record, to learn the character 
of what was produced as evidence to cause men to 
believe on Jesus as the Messiah, shows that what- 
ever else may be discovered having a bearing on the 
question, this is true, the dominant, the overwhelm- 
ing bulk of evidence produced to cause men to 
believe on Jesus as the Messiah was the miracles, 
the supernatural evidence; and further, that that 
was peculiarly designated evidence — the witness- 
ing which the Master directed his disciples to 
employ, and which they did employ in executing 
the great commission. And let the great truth be 
ever remembered, never forgotten, that, so far as 
human effort operated, it was by that witnessing of 
that supernatural evidence, so ordained by the Mas- 
ter to be so employed, that Christianity was in fact 
originally established in the world. 



INDEX 

Agnosticism, Principal Fairbairn quoted on, 114. 

Ancient Documents, any writings more than thirty 
years old are competent evidence, 26; grounds and 
reasons of the rule, 27, 31, 32, 33, 37-43; decisions 
of courts upon the subject for the last three hundred 
years, 31-37; writings of all kinds, within the rule, 
38, 39; copies or writings preserved as copies equal- 
ly with originals are competent evidence, 40. 

Ancients' conceptions of Deity, 119. 

Anomaly of disbelief in miracles, 2; anomaly exam- 
ined, 276. 

&irat, " once for all," doctrine of, 153. 

Apologetics regarding hardening Pharaoh's heart, 188. 

Apostles' conception of Jesus before the crucifixion, 
234. 

Attorney-General v. Boultbee, High Court of Chancery 
of England, on question of competency in evidence 
of books like the Bible, 43. 

Authentication of revelation by miracle, rational, 78-80. 

Bentham, J., on competency of evidence, 23. 

Bible, the, comes to men as evidence, 7; competent 

evidence, 40, 43. 
Bush, George, quoted in explanation of Ex. 15: 14, 162; 

on " gates of hell," 231. 

Challenge of priests and rulers at the cross, to Jesus, 
to Jehovah, 261. 

Chartumim, " sacred scribes," in Exodus called magi- 
cians, 131. 

Christian dispensation, announced and described, 160, 
161. 



334 Index 

Christ our guide in conception of Deity and duty, 92. 
Christ's standard, holding plow to its work until task 

is completed, 213. 
Competency of evidence, general principles, 19; reform 

in rules, 20; reformers urged no exclusion of evidence 

as incompetent, 23; rules reformed on that line by 
-legislatures and courts, 23-24. 
Completing proof of supremacy of Jehovah, 218. 
Cornelius and miracle lesson, salvation of all who will, 

302. 

Daniel's prophecy of Messiah's kingdom, 236. 

Deity as conceived by the ancients, 119. 

Deity of Jesus proved, 96; issue thereon formulated, 
103; trial of the issue, 108; verdict, Jesus Deity, 
109; irapddo^a in the verdict unfortunately render- 
ed in English, 111; Divine confirmation of, 112. 

Demonstration of verity of miracle, 16, 275, 280. 

Denials of miracles examined, 4, 6. 

Deposition. Each Gospel one, 331. 

Destruction of first-born of Egypt, 218, 220. 

Divine Decree described, 165. 

Divine purposes, 5; especially disclosed in Exodus, 122. 

Doctrine and Miracle — Deity of Jesus, chapter on, 
96-113; attributes of Jehovah, 114. 

Documents as evidence, ordinary tests of their truth, 
27. See Ancient Documents. 

Elliott on Evidence, Ancient Documents competent, 
39, 40. 

Evidence, defined, 8; produces belief, 8; how con- 
trolled, 9; philosophy of its function, 13; standard 
of, in proving miracle, 19. 

Evolutionists, denial of miracles by, examined, 6 

Existence of God, arguments taught as theistic proofs, 
115. 



Index 335 

Existence of God, 138; ten separate proofs made, 

140-144; proofs summarized, 145. 
Exodus era, state of religion in, 118. 

Facts rule supreme in all investigations, 284. 

Faith of apostles, eclipsed at the crucifixion, 257; 
not established by the resurrection, 268. 

Fisher, George P., quoted on divinity of Jesus, 96. 

Fulfilment of Daniel's prophecy of Messiah's King- 
dom, 238. 

Gates of Hell, comment on, 231. 

Gilbert, Baron, quoted on evidence of ancient copies, 40. 

God, existence and supremacy of, denied by Pharaoh, 
128. 

God's judgment covenant with Abraham, 162. 

Gods of Egypt, Jehovah's judgment against, 135. 

Gospel of John, a deposition, Ancient Document evi- 
dence, 26. 

Greenleaf, Simon, on need of candor, 3; defines evi- 
dence, 21; standard of evidence to prove verity of 
miracles, 19; opinion quoted affirming competency 
as evidence of books of the Bible, Ancient Document 
rule, 46-51. 

Gwatkin, quoted on miracles, 1. 

Hamilton, William, quoted, 86. 

Hardening Pharaoh's heart, examined, 190; represent- 
ed sometimes as done by Pharaoh himself, some- 
times by Jehovah, 194-200; consequences identical, 
200; two instances compared, 194-197. 

Hopkins, Mark, quoted on rationality of miracles, 63. 

Home, Bishop, on denial of righteousness of God by 
skeptics^ 156. 

Hume, David, challenge of, that miracles are unprov- 
able, 16. 



836 Index 

Inge, Professor, quoted, 85. 

Inspiration and revelation, defined and compared, 62. 

Interpretation, Cardinal Rule of, 190. 

Issue, defined, its function in jurisprudence, 9; Abra- 
ham Lincoln's use of, 10; employment of, by Jesus, 
11; by Jehovah, 12; made by Pharaoh's denial of 
God and his sovereignty, 128; to be continued until 
full proof is made, 212, 213. 

Jannes and Jambres, sacred scribes of Egypt, 131. 
Jesus, the Light of the World, the great proclamation, 

93. 
Jesus' use of jural science, 99. 
Jethro on Jehovah's judgments against the gods of 

Egypt, 137. 
Judgment covenant, of God, with Abraham, 162; and 

Stephen, 167; revealed to Isaac, 168; to Jacob, 169; 

recorded by the Psalmist, 169; in the Exodus, 170; 

the nine plagues not performance of, 176; destruction 

of the first-born was performance of, 179; Ex. 11: 1, 

examined, 183; the judgment identified by linguistic 

proofs, 224. 
Jural matters judged by jural standards, 202. 
Jural science, its rules, tests, ordeals, 7. 

Kingdom of God and kingdom of heaven, origin of the 
terms, 235. 

Last Supper, perplexing statements by the Master, 

251-253. 
Lazarus, miracle of the resurrection of, subject to 

tests of science, 16; proved verity, 57. 
Lesson of Jesus at Nazareth on miracles, 314. 
Livingston, Edward, quoted, 20. 
Love of an apostle, Jesus' lesson on, at Sea of Tiberias, 

288. 



Index 337 

Man of Cohasset, victim of subjective conception of 
revelation, 89, 

Mansfield, Lord, on the competency of uncompared 
copies as evidence, 28. 

Mariner's compass to illustrate following Jesus, 92. 

Meeting-house established at Capernaum, 98. 

Miracle as Objective Evidence in Revelation, chapter 
on, 78-95. 

Miracle defined as presented by the Bible, 1; inherent 
in Christianity, 1; the testimony of God, 64; illustra- 
tion, Abraham, 64; Gideon, 66; not interpreted by 
symbolism, 67; identifications of Jesus as Messiah, 
68, 70; supreme instances, 72; decalogue spoken at 
Sinai, 72; resurrection of Jesus, 73; Apostle John's 
deposition, 75; the Master's testimony, 75; pro- 
duces faith, 244. 

Miracle, Function of, chapter on, 60-77. 

Miracle Integral and Constituent in God's Economy of 
Grace and Revelation, chapter on, 225-307. 

Miracles, Cessation of, chapter on, 308-320. 

Miracles, tried, proved, resurrection of Lazarus, 15, 
57; of Jesus, 280-284; majority of, not beneficent 
to individuals, 314. 

Miracles, Verity of, Examined by Judicial Standards, 
chapter on, 15-59. 

Moses, victim of subjective conception of revelation, 
88. 

Mount of Transfiguration, exodus of Jesus to accom- 
plish at Jerusalem, 245. 

Name designating Jehovah in the Old Testament sig- 
nifies his revealed character and essence, 204. 
Nature defined in its relation to miracle, 4. 

Obedience, the test and measure of the disciples' love, 
295, 296. 



338 Index 

Objections of opponents examined, 26. 

Objective as compared with subjective, denned, 86. 

Palsied man, miracle and divinity of Jesus, 96. 

Perpetuating testimony, 148. 

Pharaoh, hardening his own heart, 191; causing to 
-stand, meaning of, 201, 206, 211. 

Proof, of existence and supremacy of God, summar- 
ized, 150, 151; of Jehovah's supremacy, incomplete 
until night of the Passover, 214-217; what consti- 
tutes, in jural science, 207. 

Purves, G. T., cited, 300. 

Rationale of miracle authenticating revelation, 80. 
Reason without revelation, not sufficient, 83. 
Resurrection of Jesus a demonstrated fact, 284. 
Revelation and inspiration defined and compared, 62. 
Righteousness of God denied by skeptics, 156; on the 

claim that he punished conduct he himself caused, 

158. 

Story, Judge, quoted, 227. 

Taylor, William, cited, 7; quoted, 106. 
Testing miracles by science, 2. 
Tests of the validity of evidence, 27. 
Theistic proof, arguments as, 115. 

Wigmore on Evidence, quoted, 13. 
Will, A. P., cited, 7. 
Wills, William, quoted, 21. 

Witnessing for the Messiah described, ordained, 329. 
Wright, G. F., on nature and miracle, 4; on miraculous 
dispensations — Bible record, 83. 

Yoking discordant elements in Christianity, 226. 



SCIENTIFIC CONFIRMATIONS OF OLD 
TESTAMENT HISTORY 

By G. FREDERICK WRIGHT 
D.D., LL.D., F.G.S.A. 

Contents: I. The Witness of the New Testament. — ■ 
II. Middle and Later Jewish History. — III. Israel in 
Egypt. — IV. The Exodus. — V. Physical Preparation 
for Israel in Palestine. — VI. Traditions of the Deluge. 
—VII. Scientific Credibility of the Deluge.— VIII. The 
Glacial Epoch as a Vera Causa. — IX. Evidences of a 
Deluge in Europe. — X. The Evidence of a Deluge in 
Asia. — XI. The Deluge in North America. — XII. The 
First Chapter of Genesis, and Modern Science. 

Cloth, 12mo, 450 pages, 40 Illustrations. 
$2, net; postpaid, $2.15. 



"One of the most thorough books of its kind, in a 
popular form, lately published." — New YorJc Times. 

" The author presents his evidence in a convincing 
way, interspersed with scientific and historical allusions 
and an occasional anecdote that gives an added zest 
to a most commendable work on a subject of perennial 
interest." — The Bookseller, Newsdealer, and Stationer. 

" The appearance of Dr. Wright's book at the present 
juncture is extremely opportune." — The Record (Eng- 
land). 

" No thoughtful mind — no sincere searcher for the 
truth — can give due consideration to the vast accumu- 
lation of scientific facts arranged by the author in this 
volume and fail to be confirmed in a belief in the his- 
torical statements of the Old Testament." — The Church- 
man (England). 

" The volume bids fair to be recognized as the stand- 
ard work on the important subject of Pentateuchal 
physics; just as explorations of the ruins of Chaldea, 
Assyria, and Egypt have enlightened us as to Old Tes- 
tament historicity." — Dr. G. MaclosMe, Princeton Re- 
view. 

BIBLIOTHECA SACRA COMPANY 

OBERLIN, OHIO 



BIBLIOTHECA SACRA 

A Religious and Sociological Quarterly 

Editor 
G. FREDERICK WRIGHT 

Associated with 

Frank H. Foster, D. W. Simon, James Lindsay, Charles 

F. Thwing, Newell Dwight Hillis, A. A. Berle; Wil- 

- liam E. Barton, William Edwards Park, Henry A. 

Stimson, Herbert W. Magoun, Azariah Smith Root. 

REASONS FOR TAKING THE BIBLIOTHECA SACRA 

1. It is the oldest theological quarterly in America 

(founded in 1843). Therefore it has an established 
character. 

2. Complete sets of it are in every leading library in 

the world. Hence it is highly prized by scholars 
who have ideas worthy of dissemination. 

3. It is consistently conservative, presenting the de- 

fenses of the ethics and faith of Christianity which 
are most effective at the present time. 

4. Its articles are sufficiently thorough to be of perma- 

nent value. No one can adequately discuss any 
of the modern phases of sociology and biblical 
criticism without consulting its pages. 

5. The series of articles by Dr. Merrins on the Dis- 

eases of the Bible, and of Harold M. Wiener, Esq., 
a learned Jewish barrister of London, on The Mo- 
saic Authorship of the Pentateuch, are the most 
thorough and satisfactory treatises upon these 
subjects that have ever been published. 



Terms: Annual Subscription, $3. Single copy, 75 
cents. Foreign Subscriptions, $3.32, except Canada, 
which is $3.16. 



BIBLIOTHECA SACRA COMPANY 

OBERLIN, OHIO 

Foreign Agent: Charles Higham & Son, 27a Farring- 
don, St., E. C, London. 



RECORDS OF THE PAST 

Editors 

PROFESSOR G. FREDERICK WRIGHT, D.D., LL. D. 

FREDERICK BENNETT WRIGHT 

Consulting Editors 

Rev. Charles De W. Beower 
Prof. Albert T. Clay, Ph.D. 
Prof. George A. Dorsey, Ph.D. 
Dr. Edgar L. Hewett 
Rev. M. G. Kyle, D.D. 
Prof. William Libbey, Sc.D. 
Prof. George Grant Mac Curdy 
Prof. W. C. Mills, M.Sc. 
Mr. Thomas F. Nelson 
Prof. F. W. Putnam 
Prof. Marshall H. Saville 
Mr. Warren Upham 

A beautifully illustrated quarto, printed upon highly 
calendared rag paper, published bi-monthly, 64 
pages a number. It contains in popular form a re- 
cord of archaeological and historical explorations 
in every part of the world. 

While not an apologetical review, it gives without bias 
the facts upon which all apologetics are based. 

It has no competitor in its field. The bound volumes 
are an elegant addition to any library, and are in- 
dispensable to students of archaeology and history. 

Special Offer for Complete Sets 

Vols. I.- VII., Unbound (postage paid) $17.00 

Vols. I.-VII.. Bound in cloth 24.00 

Vols. I.-VII., Bound in half morocco 30.00 

Terms: Annual Subscription, $3. Single copy, 50 
cents. Foreign Subscriptions, $3.36, except Mexico, 
which is $3, and Canada, which is $3.20. 

Records of the Past Exploration Society 

330 A Street, S. E., Washington, D. C. 

Foreign Agent: Charles Higham & Son, 27a Farring- 
don St., E. C, London, England. 



|UN 86 1109 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: July 2005 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Onve 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
(724)779-2111 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




014 500 939 A 



